


Querencia

by Fangirl_InThe_US



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2020-01-23 12:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18550186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirl_InThe_US/pseuds/Fangirl_InThe_US
Summary: Pregnant and alone, you stumble upon a man in the middle of a quarry. You save him from a walker. It all happens fast, but you are in labor and the man you just saved claims to know someone who can help. Will you accept his help or turn the other way?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my gosh! It’s done! I’m going to be writing this part by part. So, don’t expect the next part anytime soon. Since finals are coming and I have so much homework. I will try to write as much as I can though! I am going to warn you, I do not know anything about pregnancies. If there is anything that isn’t right, I’m sorry. I tried my best. Also, I took some creative liberty. The timing in the show is off, but I don’t think that matters a whole bunch. It really isn’t much. Anyways, please enjoy!

I was walking through the woods. Not going in any particular direction. I was just moving. The dead were somehow living and I was petrified. I thought my life was a mess before, but that was when I had a reliable food source and a bed to sleep in. Man, do I miss my bed. Also, warm showers. I’d kill for a warm shower.  
My swollen belly had started to growl. Food had been scarce and I was beginning to worry. It wouldn’t have been such a big problem if I wasn’t nine months pregnant. I could force myself to go days without food. But because I was growing a human being inside me, I didn’t want to risk anything and I tried to do everything I could.  
When the world had ended, my boyfriend, Derek, always took care of food, shelter, and the dead. Unfortunately, things got complicated when we found out I was pregnant. It must have happened right before the dead started walking. Regardless of when it happened, I needed more food than usual and it made scavenging for food a lot more grueling.  
A month after we found out about the baby, My boyfriend was bitten. He was caught while in a grocery store after he had let his guard down. When the time came, he shot himself in the head. I can remember the exact conversation we had before he did it.  
“You need to go. I have to do this.”  
“No!” Tears were flowing from my eyes as I shook my head vigorously, “You can’t. I need you. We need you.” I made the statement as I rubbed my stomach.  
“You know what happens. I’m bit and the only thing I will be doing will be taking a bite out of you. I know how strong you are and I know you can make it. I love you, both of you. Now go. I don’t want you seeing this. Just leave me.”  
I was about to object, but he gave me a look and I knew that there was nothing I could say or do to stop this from happening. I closed my eyes took and took a deep breath in. I let myself feel the emotions for a couple of seconds then I breathed out. I opened my eyes and got a look at Derek one last time.  
Then, hastily, I am turning around and grabbing all our supplies. With a hand on my belly, I am walking forward. I didn’t know where to go so I just went straight.  
My protruding stomach was still growling when I came across a small cabin in the woods. As I approached it, the building looked to be untouched. The door was intact and closed. Everything around the cabin was overgrown and there were plants hanging on the siding of the house.  
I pulled the hunting knife I had attached to my hip and readied myself for anything. Quietly, I walked to the door and attempted to open it. Nothing happened. The door was locked. That was a good sign.  
As inconspicuous and quiet as possible, I crept toward the front window. The curtains were drawn, so I couldn’t see what was inside. With my knife in hand, I carefully switched the windows lock. I slid the window open with no problem and clambered into the cabin.  
Upon first glance, there wasn’t anything alarming. The room had what a typical living room had in it. No dead to be seen. I meandered into the small entryway still not seeing anything that could remotely be a threat. Making my way to the next room I didn’t see nor hear anything remotely dangersome. I made sure to sneak through the entire house and still didn’t find anything.  
When I considered the cabin safe, I was going straight to the kitchen. It was small and had all the essentials. Nothing jumped out at me. That was until I saw the walk-in pantry. I ripped open the door and cried out in happiness. There were two cans of soup among a bunch of spoiled food. I grabbed both cans and shoved them into my bag.  
Walking out, the first thing I did was open all the cabinets. I came up empty. I wasn’t even going to attempt to open the refrigerator. I made that mistake once. Never again.  
Before I left the house, I did another walkthrough. Halfway through my walkthrough, I found a door. Wow, my observation skills never cease to amaze me. I opened the door and saw some stairs leading to a basement. I closed my eyes and sighed. I really didn’t want to go down into the creepy basement but if there was a chance that there was food down there, I had to go.  
I tried the light switch in hopes that it would work. I didn’t. So I pulled out a flashlight and tried to be as sneaky as possible. I hadn’t checked this area and for all I know, there could be a group of geeks hiding down there.  
Once I had made it to the bottom of the stairs, I swept my eyes around my surroundings. At first glance, I didn’t notice any dead. What I did notice, was that there was a lot of furniture which meant a lot of places for the undead to hide.  
I went around checking for any possible threats. Behind a couch, under a desk, any possible hidey-hole could house a living corpse. Checking behind a box, there was a groan coming from the unchecked room. I was instantly ready for an attack. Nothing came. I walked closer to the little room.  
What I found was a depressing sight. My eyes were trained to the figure dangling from a ceiling fan. Half of what used to be the man was awkwardly laying on the ground. The other half was wildly jerking towards me. It’s arms outstretched while it wildly attempted to grab me.  
I wasn’t going to risk cutting it down. There was no point it’s not like it was hurting anyone. So, I just left it there to rot. Moving on from the putrid sight, I continued on my search for more food. With a thorough job, I found one pack of sunflower seeds and one king size pack of Reese's cups. They were hidden away in a desk drawer.  
I made my way out of the cabin and prepared myself for another journey to nowhere. I was getting really sick of a never ending destination. I wanted a place to stay. A place to call home. Unfortunately, there was no place like that anymore. Places like that are fairytales now.

~~~~~~~~~~

It’d been a few days since I had found the little cabin in the woods and I was moving closer to Atlanta. Or at least that’s what the road signs were telling me. I knew that I would have to change my route. I haven’t seen how bad the cities were, but I could imagine. I didn’t want to be anywhere near that.  
Recently, I had been making camp closer to the woods. I think that is because in the woods there is a reliable food source. Fortunately, I had found a survival book in a house I raided a few days ago. The most important thing it taught me was how to make a snare. Now I have been testing my skills out and I happened to catch two rabbits.  
At the moment I was walking to a snare I made the night before. It was hard trying to trapeze through the foliage on the forest floor. Especially since I was pregnant. Successfully, I had made it to my snare. Bending down, I found that I was unlucky in my attempt to catch dinner. With a sigh, I decided to move on.  
Surprisingly, I had been going at a decent pace for a pregnant woman. I’m pretty sure in three hours I had walked at least six miles. I could feel my feet beg for a break. Also, I was sure that there were blisters starting to form on my feet.  
When I came across a car, I decided this was a good place as any to take a break. I sat down so my back rested against the tire. Leaning my head back, I let my eyes closed and allow my body to relax. This probably wasn’t a good idea, since it was out in the open. Well, I have my shotgun beside me, so I’m covered if something comes out to eat or attack me.  
While I soak up the sun, I realize how taxing everything has been on my body. Lifting my hand I lay it on my protruding belly. After a moment I feel a little kick. I moved my hand lower to feel the mini human inside me. A smile spread across my lips. That was until I heard a loud shout.  
My eyes shot open. I survey the area around me. There is no visible threat. I focus on the sounds around me. Nothing out of the ordinary was heard. Then there’s another shout. This time it sounded more like a cry of pain. I debated in my head whether to go see if the person needed help or if this was a trap.  
I decide to throw caution to the wind. Okay, maybe not entirely. I crept through the woods toward where I thought I heard the shout. The closer I get the more I start to hear a mumbling.  
“I ain’t nobody's bitch.” Is the only coherent thing I hear. I silently chuckle.  
I stopped right behind a tree. Leaning to the side, I witness what was going on. There was a man laying on the ground. He looked half dead. He had some sort of head wound and an arrow sticking out of his side. I glance at the space above him. From the looks of it, the man fell off the cliff above. As he fell he must’ve fallen on his arrow.  
Suddenly, a dead emerges and I watch as it starts stumbling his way towards the man. I attempted to get the delirious man’s attention, but it was to no avail. He doesn’t hear me and the dead fell on his knees and started attacking the stranger's feet.  
I stepped out and shouted at the monster. The dead’s head whipped toward me as the man laying on the ground comes to his senses. I surged forward, toward the growling monstrosity and sunk my knife into its skull. The dead dropped to the ground instantly.  
Through this entire event, I had begun to hyperventilate. With all this stress, I notice a few changes with my body. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen and my eyes became blurry. The pain was like a cramp but ten times worse than what I was used to. I cried out in pain.  
The man in front of me looked like he wanted to say something but suddenly glanced behind me. His face morphed into one of panic. He scrambled to gather something but I wasn’t paying much attention.  
I bent over because the pain was too much. With my hands on my knees, I tried to calm my breathing. Thankfully, my vision was clearing and I noticed that a dark trail had traveled down my pants. It suddenly hits me. I am in labor and my water just broke.  
I hadn't ever thought of what would happen when it was time for the baby to come. I assumed I’d end up dead before then. It’s a morbid thought, but a realistic one. Yet here I am with a man who can barely stand while in the middle of who knows where. This is no place to have a baby. The man next to me probably doesn’t know how to birth a child.  
During my panic attack, The man next me to jumped into action. I was watching in horror as he painfully pulled the arrow from his side. My brows furrowed and my head tilted. What the hell is he doing? As the thought crossed my mind, I heard a growl from behind me. My head turned to look behind me. There, ever so quickly, is a dead making its way toward my figure.  
I stumble back with a gasp. My hand goes protectively toward my stomach. In an instant, the dead drops to the ground with an arrow deeply implanted in its brain. I whirled back to where the half-dead man was. Just as my eyes landed on him, he lowered his crossbow.  
“Who the hell are you?” He asks as he watches my trembling form.  
“Someone who is about to birth a baby.”  
“Well, shit.” His eyes ran across my body for any signs. Landing on my pants, he saw the trail down my pants. “Shit, ya ain’t kiddin’”  
“Do you happen to know how to deliver a baby?” I figured I might try.  
“The hell I do. Do I look like someone who can?” The man was swaying as he grumbled.  
“Are you the only one? Is there anyone you know who could help me?” I asked hopefully.  
The man just grumbled and kicked some sand up. I watched as he had an internal battle. Finally, he walked up to me and grabbed my arm.  
“I got someone back at my camp who can help, but there’s a problem. We’re stuck in this damn area an’ we need ta be up there.” The man pointed to the cliff above us.  
“I know of a road not too far from here. We could find it and maybe find a way to you’re camp.”  
“A’ight,”  
“Can I ask you one thing?” The man just grunted, “What’s your name?”  
The man glowered at me, but then noticed what state I was in. His eyes softened. “The name’s Daryl Dixon, yours?”  
“(Y/N) (Y/L/N). Nice to meet you, Daryl Dixon.”  
I lead Daryl in the direction that I had come from. There were a few dead that Daryl had to take out. The contractions were painful but they were still far apart. I had some hope that I could make it to Daryl's camp.  
Successfully directing Daryl, I stumbled through the last bit of shrubbery. I turned to him with a proud look on my face. He looked at me with a passive face but a hint of something behind his eyes. My proud smirk must’ve come off as a grimace from my contractions.  
“Okay, so. Where do we go now?” I grunted out as the pain lingered.  
“‘s not too far from here. You walked in a straight enough path tha’ I can find our way back.” That was all the words spoke before he walked off to my right. I followed Daryl as best as I could and we had somehow come across a hill that was climbable. Which would have been a breeze for anyone who wasn’t pregnant.  
I struggled quite a bit and Daryl did little to help me. I think he was getting fed up. Once I had gotten myself up the hill, I eyed the man in front of me. There must have been a few dead because he had a necklace of their ears hanging from his neck. I raised my eyebrows and he just grunted and started walking again.  
It was a while later when Daryl was stopping again. He dropped the things that he was holding except for his crossbow. I stood there in confusion. What on earth is the man doing now? He would stop every once in a while just to listen. I knew that he was listening for any dead. Or walkers, as he likes to call them. This time it was different.  
“What are you doing?  
“Goin’ ta get us some grub. Wait here.” Without another word, he was walking off.  
I sighed and carefully sat down. The contraction that shot through me didn’t help either. Taking a few breaths, I leaned against the tree behind me.  
I had laid there for what had to be twenty minutes before anything exciting happened. Suddenly, There was a rustle in the bushes beside me. As soon as I heard it, I was grabbing for my weapon. Daryl came bursting out of the bushes with two squirrels.  
Instantly, I notice the blood covering his mouth. His hands were covered in the red liquid too. What did he do while he was out there?  
“The the hell happened to you?”  
“Nothin’. I got us some squirrels.”  
“What do you mean nothing? You’re covered in blood.”  
“Calm down woman. I ate mine already.”  
“Raw?”  
“No, I took the time to cook it while I let you and the little cub starve.”  
“There’s no need for the sarcasm. Just… hand over the squirrel.”  
“What? No. I’ll cook it for ya’. He set the squirrels down and began to grab sticks, “‘s not a big deal. you don’t have to eat yours raw.”  
After that, the conversation was finished. I watched as the man gathered some sticks for a small fire. While all this is going on, I am sitting rubbing my belly and watching. I looked away when Daryl began to skin the squirrels.  
Daryl had finished skinning the squirrels and put it over the fire. I remember when I used to get sick at the smell of cooked meat. It was sometime after I found out that I was pregnant. I hated every minute of it.  
Breaking me out of my thoughts, a stick was waved in my face. I looked up to see that Daryl had fully cooked the meat to his satisfaction. We didn’t even know who I was and he was already watching out for me. That could also be because I was pregnant and he was generally a decent human being that didn’t want to hurt a pregnant woman’s baby.  
I ate quickly, I knew that there wasn’t much time to waist. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that when a baby is ready to come out, it’s ready to come out.  
I tossed the stick in a random direction and attempted to get up. Suddenly, there was a hand on my arm and I was being helped up. Turning to Daryl, I flashed him a thankful smile. All I got back was a low grunt. We gathered our things and got back to walking.

~~~~~~~~

Groaning in pain, I wondered how much time had passed. It felt like it had been hours. I noticed as we walked that my contractions were getting closer and closer. I was beginning to worry that we weren’t going to make it.  
Ahead of me, Daryl stopped. I looked at him in confusion. He held his hand up and looked me dead in the eyes. I broke his stare as a sharp contraction hit me. His eye softened for a split second.  
“I don’ know how my people are gonna react ta ya, so I want ya ta wait here until I give ya a signal ta come out.”  
“Alright.” I gave a simple nod.  
As the man stumbled through the trees, he stopped to look back at me. Did he really need to check if I was staying where I was? I tried to smile, but another contraction hit me. They were really close now and I had a feeling it was about time.  
Suddenly, I was brought out of my thoughts. I heard shouting from behind the forest trees. From the sound of it, they weren’t happy. After a moment the shouting stopped.  
“Is that Daryl?” I heard through the foliage.  
“That’s the third time you’ve pointed that thing at my head.” Daryl didn’t sound happy. “Ya gonna pull the trigger or what?”  
In a sudden wave of emotion, I emerged from behind the trees. The only one who could get me medical help could potentially end up getting shot and I wasn’t going to let that happen.  
“Please don’t!” I yelled as I staggered toward the group surrounding Daryl. As I made my way to Daryl, but before anything else could happen there was a bang and Daryl fell to the ground, “No!” I yelled.  
As the men made their way to the, now, unconscious man, a pain like no other shot through me and I all came to me. The baby was coming.  
The men were not, only screaming at the people quickly approaching us, but were attempting to get me moving toward what looked like a farmhouse. I was in a weird state. It was like I wasn’t there and I couldn’t get a hold of my breathing. Also, it was like I was floating above watching the action, and watching as it happened.  
“Someone help me. This one is in some sort of shock and it’s making carrying her difficult.” The man who was talking was young. He had a blad head and a mean looking face. Maybe it was a frustrated one. I couldn’t tell what emotions were. I was too deep in shock.

~~~~~~~

I was being tapped on the cheek and my eye focused on an old man above me. I then realized that I was in a room and on a bed. When did I get here?  
“Sweetheart, I’m gonna need you to be present for this. In a few seconds, I’m gonna need you to push. Can you do that?” Slowly coming back, I nodded at the man.  
There was screaming. I looked around to see who it was, but I soon realized that it was me. That was when the pain came back and it hurt. It hurt so bad. It felt like, well, that there was a baby pushing its way out of me.  
My lower regions were burning as the baby was forcing his way through. I squeezed my eyes and my hands shut. My muscles contract in pain. That was when I realized that there was someone's hand in mine.  
I opened my eyes to see who, and I saw it was a woman. A young woman. She had short brown hair and concerned eyes. She was about to say something but the elderly man spoke up.  
“Alright, you’re ready. Now push.”  
It took an hour and a half. In an instant, I am crying in joy as my newborn make their first cry. As they wrap my little angel, I laid back, exhausted. I was filled with so many emotions as my tears rolled down my face. When the woman who was holding my hand came over with my baby, I tried to collect myself. I had grabbed the reigns on my emotions and the woman handed me, my child.  
“Congratulations, you have a baby boy.” There was a wide smile on her face as she watched my son involuntary ball his hands up.  
The little man was still covered in blood and other fluids, but I didn’t care. I was too focused on his features. He had a mix of mine and Derek’s features. While I admire his face, I rub my finger against his tiny cheek.  
“Edmund Joseph (Y/LN). That’s his name.” I stated as I smiled at my baby.  
“I like it.” A teenager leaning against the doorway voiced.  
I moved my attention to the girl. Her gaze was on Edmund. She had a large smile on her face and a little bit of longing in her eyes. She must’ve wanted a child. This world took that chance away from her.  
“Bethie, what are you doing in here? I thought you were helping Carol with Daryl’ stitches?” Beth looked at the woman at my side.  
“We got that done a long time ago. I could hear what was going on and when it all finally calmed down, I thought I’d come in to get a peek at the little one.”  
The other woman was about to answer back, but before she could I spoke up. “No, it’s okay. You wanna see him?” As soon as I asked Beth’s eyes lit up.  
“Can I?”  
“You know what?” The woman beside me interjected, “Why doesn’t Beth take the little one and We let you get some well-earned sleep? You look exhausted and you, mama, really need sleep after all that work.”  
Before I could say anything back, the woman was giving me a stern look and I conceded. Suddenly, I did feel really tired. I guess I could get a little sleep. From the way Daryl acted towards these people, I figured I could trust them. If they wanted to hurt me and my baby they would’ve done it by now.  
I handed Edmund to the woman and she carefully took him into her arms. I realized that I never learned her name, “Hey, I didn't quite get your name.”  
Her eyes crinkled as she smiled yet again, “The names Maggie, Maggie Greene.”  
“Mine’s (Y/N) (/L/N). Thank you for helping me.”  
“It was no problem. Now you get some sleep and I’ll clean this little guy.” I smiled as she walked out with my son in her arms.  
Leaning back, I rested my head against the pillow. I had to shift into a more comfortable position which resulted in pain to shoot into my nether regions. I groaned but finally settled not wanting to cause any more pain. As I laid there, my eyelids began to droop. The exhaustion fully settled in and my eyes closed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Part two! I’m not too sure about this part. This could be because I’ve read it so many time that I’ve become numb to it. Creative criticism is welcomed. Also, if any of you know how to make my dialogue less awkward, I’d appreciate it! Without further ado, here is part two!

The Doc, who I had learned was named Hershel, had ordered me to bed rest for a whole twenty-four hours. He said that it was to monitor how the mother and the baby were doing. Fortunately, I had some company to entertain me.

Beth had been by my side for most of the day. She had been tasked with taking care of Edmund. Throughout the day she and I had gotten well acquainted with each other. I found out that she was seventeen. Also, she used to babysit.

I told her how I had gone to college to become a teacher. I mentioned that I ended up dropping out because I didn’t have enough money. Beth told me that before the world ended, she hadn’t fully decided whether she wanted to go or not. Then I told her about how I met Derek and how he died. She had squeezed my shoulder.

“Do ya miss him?” Beth suddenly let out.

“Yes. He was my first love, but I’ve had some time and I’m over it.”

“What do ya mean?” Beth’s lifted her eyes to meet mine. She had her brows furrowed and a small frown on her lips.

“I was out there, alone, for a long time. The time let me think and as the days passed, I came to terms with his death. It also made me think about how I would die. I always figured it’d be in childbirth, but thanks to Daryl, not only do I get to live, but my child does too.” A small smile formed on my lips.

I watched as Beth slipped into her mind. There was a long pause as she thought over something. Suddenly, she came out of her thoughts.

“I don’t know what I’d do if my boyfriend were to die.”

I frowned. What could she mean? It’s been a while since the world ended and communication has been down just as long. How could she possibly know if her boyfriend was alive?

“How do you know if he’s alive?”

She giggled a little, “He’s here on the farm. It was the third day after the world ended and he came rushing into the farm. I was overjoyed to see that he was still alive. He had come to the farm to see if I was too.”

“That makes a lot more sense.” After a moment we both started to giggle. Man, it felt good to have a lighthearted moment again.

After our talk, Beth eventually had to go to sleep. Edmund had been put to bed sometime during our talk. With goodnights exchanged, Beth was out the door heading to her room.

~~~~~~

It was the next morning. I got up and walked to the old crib Edmund was in laying in. Hershel was kind enough to lend me the crib they had used for Beth. I picked up my son and sat down in the chair next to it. I began feeding Edmund.

Suddenly Beth appeared. “Daddy said that you’re able to go outside now,” Beth announced as she leaned on the door frame.

“Okay, thanks, Beth.” The girl walked off and I focused on the task at hand.

After Edmund was full, I had burped him. Soon after, I got both of us dressed. Someone yesterday must have gone out and grabbed a few baby clothes. Since there was a box full of clothes.

There were several onesies and each of them had their own pattern. I soon found my favorite, as I pulled out one with little pirate ships spread across the fabric. Along with the onesies, there were a few t-shirts and baby jeans for when Edmund got older. I was surprised that someone had thought that far in advance.

I made my way out with Edmund in my arms. The door shut behind me and I surveyed the area outside. When my eyes landed on the camp, I noticed that it was further from where I thought it was.

Examining further, Daryl’s group had built their camp around a small fire pit. The fire pit had several chairs around it and behind the chairs were everyone’s tents.

I noticed quickly that Daryl was nowhere to be seen. I knew that Hershel had let Daryl go back to his tent last night. There was a commotion that happened which had woken up Edmund who was sleeping in my arms.

“I heard that you had quite the adventure a couple days ago,” A woman with a short hair approached me.

“Anyone still alive has had an adventure. I, fortunately, made a few choices which led to a good situation,”

“I guess so. I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Carol.”

“Nice to meet you, my name’s (Y/N).” I flashed her a smile, “This little one is Edmund.” I walked closer to the woman to show her the little munchkin.

“Well, hello there Edmund,” Carol turns her attention back to me, “He’s adorable.”

“Thanks,” A smile found its way to my lips.

“I have a little girl,” her lips from a frown for a moment and tears welled in her eyes, “I’m sorry. It’s just that, she’s all alone out there. She got chased by those things.”

My eyes softened. “If I’m not mistaken, Daryl was out there looking for her when I found him.”

“Yes, he’s been dead set on finding my little girl. I have been very appreciative of him. He keeps the hope up.”

“I can tell you that he is dedicated. Even while he was bringing me here, he always looked like he was watching for something. Now I know what. Y’all are lucky to have someone like that.”

“I know. Everyone here has been supportive and always looking for an opportunity to look for her. I just hope that we’ll find her soon. It’s already been a while and I worry.”

“As mother should,” I gave her a soft look. Carol smiled and nodded. “Do you happen to know where I can find Daryl? I wanted to thank him for what he did for me.”

“He’s out there by the crumbled wall,” Carol pointed toward the line of trees.

My eyes moved in the direction that Carol was pointing. As I examined the area, I found a demolished wall. Beside the wall were a fairly sized tent and a small fire pit. While examining the area, I watched as the woman who shot Daryl walked away from his tent.

“Isn’t that the woman who shot Daryl?” I turned to Carol.

“Yes, she must be apologizing to him. She felt awful after she found out she shot the man. Her name is Andrea just so you know. That way you don’t have to go around calling her as ‘the woman who shot Daryl’.” Carol gave me a small smirk.

“Andrea, okay. Well, I think that I’m gonna go visit Daryl. I haven’t had the chance to thank him for saving me and my baby. I’ll talk to you later.” I waved at the woman beside me and she waved back. With that, I walked toward Daryl’s small camp.

I looked down at Edmund, he was being jostled around, yet he still found a way to sleep. His little head was laying on my chest with his fists balled around the neck of my shirt. Tearing up, I realize Edmund wouldn’t have been a thing in my life if Daryl didn’t come into my life.

Once I reached Daryl’s tent, I tapped on the thin door. There was a shuffle. I waited for some sort of acknowledgment. When there was nothing, I spoke up.

“Daryl?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah”

I attempted to unzip the tent. It wasn’t something easily done since I only had one hand. As I struggled, I’m pretty sure I heard a little snort from the other side of the door. Finally, I got the door opened and I made a quiet gasp.

Daryl was splayed out with his shirt opened. A few buttons were undone which exposed some of his chest. This made an odd sensation grow in my belly. Feeling a warmness spread across my cheeks, I hoped that Daryl figured that it was from the heat.

“Ya just gonna stand there and gawk?”

“Sorry, sorry. I was just making sure you were okay. I saw what you looked like after you were shot. It didn’t look good, Daryl.”

“‘m fine. The bullet jus’ grazed me. How’s the little tyke?” Daryl tried changing the subject.

“Well, it took an hour and a half but the little guy is as healthy as can be. Beth has been helpin’ me take care of the little guy. He’s got himself a pair of lungs.” I smiled as Daryl chuckled at that.

“’s a boy? Ya, name ‘im?”

“Yeah.” My smile broadened, “Daryl, meet Edmund Joseph (Y/L/N).” I sat Eddie down beside Daryl. Edmund looked up at Daryl’s face as he cooed.

“Nice ta meet ya, Lil’ Risk-taker. The name’s, Daryl Dixon,” I made a look. Daryl saw it, “He took a risk deciding to come out at the time he did. Put his mama through a lot.”

There was a little squeal as Eddie examined the ground beneath him. Daryl and you both moved your gaze to him. A few quiet minutes passed. Both of you watched Edmund for a little while. I let my eyes migrate to the man in front of me.

The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and his eyes were trained on the baby as he played. There was a warmth to Daryl I hadn’t seen before. Yet, from the way that Beth talked about him, he didn’t seem like the type of guy to spread the love. Daryl must have a soft spot for kids.

“’m thinkin’ ‘bout goin’ back out there soon.” I automatically wanted to oppose the idea, “I’m assumin’ they told ya about Carol’s lil’ girl’.”

“Carol actually told me. Besides that, how can you even want to move around? You just got shot.”

“I have to find her. She’s out there alone. I found her doll. If I jus’ had one more day, I’d have that girl back here ‘n no time!”

“Daryl, calm down. I get that you want to be out there as soon as possible, but you must think rationally. You’re hurt. You need to take a break. I could maybe take someone out to where we were and look in that area-”

“No. You got Lil’ Risk-taker to take care of. You can’t go riskin’ ya life out there. I already feel better and I know the area now. I will be fine moving around.”

“Just because I have Edmund doesn’t mean that I’m going to stay back and watch as y’all risk your lives. I want to contribute to the group.”

“An’ Ya can do that here! Lil’ Risk-Taker don’t need ta lose his momma right after he’s born. Bein’ a kid without ya parents is hard an’ he don’t need that.” As Daryl was talking I couldn’t help but think that he was talking from experience. The thought jerked my heart.

“What would I do then? I don’t even know if y’all want me to stay.” Daryl tried to interrupt, but I kept talking, “I know you guys don’t know me and some of your members look a little territorial-”

“Would ya shut up?” Daryl glared up at me, “Yer a part of the group now. Carol an’ the Grene girls have been talkin’ like ya one of us. I sure as hell ain’t lettin’ ya leave. I’d drag yer ass back here myself. People need groups to survive now an’ now that ya have a baby, ya need us more than ever. So ya ain’t leaving. If ya want to start helping, ya can do it without riskin’ ya life. ‘m sure Carol could use the help and there’s much ta do here at the farm. Maybe you n’ I can go scoutn’ or lookin’ for the girl later.”

I was running my fingers over the floor of the tent as Daryl ranted. When he mentioned about me being a part of the group, I looked up, surprised. I didn’t know What, Carol or anybody else really thought of me. All I knew was there were a few weird looks I got from some of the members. Especially from the man who carried me to the Greene house.

I was also surprised he admitted to going out looking for the girl. I would’ve gone out without his permission, but the fact that he’d want me to go with him was somethin’ else.

“Okay, Lil’ Risk-taker and I are here to stay.” Daryl lit up when I called Edmund by his nickname. “And I’ll take ya up on the offer to go looking for Sophia with you.”

It became oddly quiet. I gazed down toward Edmund. There he was with his arms tucked under him, asleep. Eddie’s mouth was slightly open and his little chest rose and fell every time he took a breath.

“Alright, seeing how he’s ready for nap time, I’ll leave you to get some sleep for yourself.”

“I’m fine. Jus’ waiting for this damn wound to heal up so I can go look for Sophia again.”

“Don’t do anything stupid. I can’t lose the only person who tolerates my presence.” Daryl rolled his eyes as I stood up.

I leaned down to carefully picked up Edmund. Carefully, I stepped out of the tent. Closing the flap behind me, I examined the sight in front of me. Patricia, Beth, and her boyfriend were standing by a truck while talking amongst themselves. At the other end of the camp, a woman and two men were talking heatedly to a kid. I didn’t see where Carol was, so I decided I’d put Edmund in his crib and then go see what was going on.

I slipped into the room that I’ve been using for the past couple of nights. I laid Edmund down. The little guy was out cold, so he didn’t really notice when he left my arms. His eyes were closed and his mouth was still open. The fuzz he had for hair was sticking up in all directions. My heart filled with unconditional love.

Once Edmund was tucked in, I closed the door behind me and walked out towards the camp. As I approached Beth, the woman and two men from before were walking toward us. I looked at Beth with a confused look. She just waved it off.

“Alright, looks like we have someone else joining us.” The man nudged his head towards me. He was standing with his hand on his hips and a smile on his face.

“Um… What exactly are we doing?” I asked.

“We’re going out for shooting lessons. You wanna join?” The man next to the one from before spoke up. I instantly recognize this man as the one who carried me into the Greene’s house.

“I guess I can. Is Carol coming? I’m gonna need someone to look over Edmund.”

“I think she is but I’m pretty sure Dale won’t mind looking over your little one.” The first man reasoned.

“Okay, I’ll talk to him before we go,” Suddenly, I blurt out, “I’m sorry! I haven’t introduced myself. I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N).” I waved at the new group.

“I’m Rick Grimes. This is my wife Lori and that is my partner Shane Walsh.” Rick motioned to the two people beside him. Then the kid from before appeared. “And this is my son Carl. Carl, this is (Y/N).” The kid waved.

“Nice to finally meet y’all. It’s been a while since I had people to talk to. So, sorry if I’m a little awkward.” My shoulders lifted and my lips formed into a small smile.

“How long were you out there alone?” Everyone looked like they were genuinely interested to hear my answer.

“Uh, I don’t know. The only person who was with me was my boyfriend. But he died a month after the world ended.”

“You poor thing! you were alone for most of it!” Lori was looking at me with her brows knitted. Suddenly, she was walking to where I stood and was wrapping her arms around me. “I can’t imagine being out there, alone for that long. How did you do it? Especially while pregnant?”

There was something in Lori’s eyes. It was like she wasn’t just asking out of curiosity, but almost for herself. There was obviously something going on there. I’d have to ask Carol or Daryl if they knew anything about it.

“I just survived. I found whatever I could and kept walking. I lived all the way back in Iowa. So, I got pretty far. Though honestly, until Daryl came, I thought that I would die while in childbirth.” There were a few pitying looks aimed in my direction.

“Well, we’re glad you made it. And your welcome to stay here with us. Nowadays, you need other people to live.” Rick motioned with his hands as he talked.

“Daryl told me the same thing. And I have decided that I’m staying,” I chuckled a little, “Daryl even said he’d drag me back if I attempted to leave.” Everyone chuckled at the thought.

After that talk, Rick went over the plan with me. It sounded like stuff I had already learned on my own, but I figured that the practice wasn’t a bad idea. Plus, it might be a little different since I’m not nine months pregnant anymore.

Before we went off, I introduced my self to Dale and asked if he would watch over Edmund for me. I didn’t want to assume that he would watch over him.

“Hey, Dale right?”

“Yes, ma'am. You’re (Y/N)?”, He must have seen the confusion written on my face as he reassured me, “I talked to Daryl and he told the group about how you two met. Pretty interesting story if ya ask me.”

“Oh, yeah. He would have been walkers lunch had I not walked in when I did.” Dale nodded his head, “I was wondering, Rick wants me to go with the group to the shooting range-”

“I’ll watch over the little one. He’ll be safe here.” I was surprised by his sudden comment.

“Thank you. I know y’all don’t know me much, but I appreciate everything that you’ve done, and what you are doing for me and my son.”

“It’s no problem. Babies are cute and it beats havin’ to sit in the sun all day.” I smiled at the older man.

I left Dale to do what he was doing before and walked toward the others. Everyone except Rick and Shane was ready. The two men were fussing over a bag of guns. One would pull a gun out and the other would put it back in. They would argue a little more and the process would repeat itself. I giggled as I reached Carol’s side.

“Do you have any idea what they’re doing?” I whispered in Carol’s ear.

“They’re trying to decide which guns to take with us. It’s hilarious to watch.” I giggled at Carol’s last comment. She turned to look at me. “How was the talk with Daryl?”

“It went fine. He got to see Edmund for the first time. It’s funny, he even gave Eddie a nickname, Lil’ Risk-Taker,” Carol snorted, “What? I think it’s cute.” I eyed Carol. She was smirking.

“Looks like there are a few more things you think are cute coming from that man,” I felt my cheeks heat up.

“Oh, shut up! Things aren’t that way between us! We just met.” I hurriedly tried to explain myself.

“I was just teasing. I didn’t imply anything but your reaction did give away a few things.” I just rolled my eyes. Keeping my mouth shut was probably the best idea at that moment.

“Hey, do you know anything that’s going on with Lori? I know I don’t really know her, but she seemed a bit off.”

“Not that I know of. Now that you mention it, she has been a little weird, but it’s probably just emotions. She’s only had her husband back for a month or two.” I just nodded. That would make a little sense.

“Alright, I think we’re ready to go,” Rick spoke up as he stopped in front of the group. He beckoned us to move towards the cars. Walking towards the cars, I noticed that Shane already at the cars with the bag of guns slung over his back.

Carol, Beth, and Patricia followed me into a car. In the car next to us, Shane and Andrea rode together while behind us, Rick, Lori, Carl, and Beth’s boyfriend rode in another car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had stopped and Rick and Shane told us that we’d be walking the rest of the way. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long. The area we stopped at was a wide opening in the forest. There was a fence that happened to be connected to a neighbor of the Greene’s.

I watched as Shane and Rick set up our targets. The targets were just cans set on the fence posts. We all moved closer to the area. When Rick was ready, he went over the basics.

“Alright, This here is the safety. You’re gonna want ta switch it if any of you want to even begin to shoot. Now, from there it sounds pretty easy, but is probably one of the hardest things you encounter when tryin’ ta shoot.” As Rick talked, Shane was nodding beside him.

“I remember when I was shootin’ for the firs’ time and it took a lot out of me. I was a stubborn son of a bitch and I was there practicin’ for what felt like days. I would wake up and go practicing. My advisors had to drag me out of the range, just to get me to finish my other responsibilities.” Shane was here, talking, but he was somewhere far away in his head.

“I remember you almost knocked someone out tryin’ to stop them. You were so determined then. Not that you aren’t now. It’s just the situation is different.” Rick was smiling at his partner as he recollected his memories.

“I got in so much trouble. I dragged you into everything too.” Shane had a smile on his face until he looked at Lori.

I watched as the smile on Shane’s face fell. Lori and Shane didn’t vocalize anything, but there was something in their eyes. Yep, there was definitely something going on between those two.

Soon, the men started handing out guns to everyone. When they got to me, they both smirked. Shane started to riffle through the gun bag. The looks they gave me, it was like they were the hunters and I was the prey.

“We saw that you were carrying a shotgun with you when you came to us. We figured you wouldn’t need any beginners training. So we’re gonna let you give this a try.” When Rick had finished talking, Shane walked up to me holding what looked like a hunting rifle.

“Oh my. I don’t know… The only things I’ve shot with are a handgun and my shotgun. You really sure about this?”

“We’re sure. From what we gathered from Daryl, you know how to carry something of this size. Plus, We’ll be there to help ya out if ya need it.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll try it out. One question. If I get good enough, can I join the watch list? I’d be nice to contribute.”

“Sure, I’m pretty sure once Shane has taught you that you’d be more than fit to join.” Rick looked at his best friend and smiled.

“Cool. Now, is there anything, besides basic knowledge, that I need to know before firing this thing?” I glanced toward the men while raising the rifle.

“You fired a shotgun, right?” I nodded, “Then you’re good. This bad boy is gonna have a lighter kick than your shotgun. And I’m pretty sure ya know how to aim down ya sights. You’re good.”

“Alright, so Where am I going and what am I aiming for?” With that question, Rick motioned for Shane to take me to where I’d be shooting from.

“Now, you gonna want to aim for that branch all the way over there. I made sure to put a can on top of it. Can ya see it?”

Getting into position, I looked into my scope. Sure enough, there was the can. “I see the can. Do ya want me to go ahead and fire?”

“Yep. Just aline the scope with the can and squeeze the trigger.” I followed Shane’s instructions.

As I squeezed the trigger, the bullet went zipping through the clearing. Looking back into the scope, I found that I missed he can. There was the tiniest hole stuck into the branch just below the can. The can stood proudly on top of the brach. It was like it was mocking me. I’ll show you can.

“Not bad. Okay, now pull back the bolt to reload.”

I followed Shane’s instructions again and got back into my position. I took a big breath in. While I breathed out, I squeezed the trigger and sent another bullet flying. As soon as the bullet was shot, I was looking in the scope. I watch just in time to see the can fly off the branch and hit the ground.

I move back and jumped up and down is excitement. I was whooping as well. When I looked at everybody else, I saw they were cheering along. Without thinking, I pulled Shane into an elated hug. When I pulled back I blushed and apologized.

“No problem girlie. It’s an exciting moment for you.” Shane flashed a smile at me. I gave him a smile back and headed to talk to Carol who looked like she wanted to squeeze the life out of me.

~~~~~~~~~

We were riding back to the farm. I was pretty pleased with what I had accomplished. Shane said that if we had a few more practices, then I could be put on the watch list. I’d officially have a job. He also said that he and Rick would introduce Their scavenging friend to me.

I was squished in between Carol and Carl this time. I expected the car ride to be a quiet one, but I was mistaken.

“I’m so bored! Why did we have to go out so far?” Carl was sitting to my right with a scrunched up face.

“Because. We don’t want the noise to attract any walkers and draw them to the camp.” Rick was eyeing Carl from the rear-view mirror.

“Is there any way we can get home any quicker? Or a way to make the time go by quicker?”

Rick was about to speak, but before he could, I voiced my opinion. “Of course there is!” Rick looked at me confused. “Gimme something that starts with the letter A.”

Carl thought for a second. “Can it be an animal?” He asked looking up at me.

“Sure,” I answered back with a shrug.

“Okay, how about an armadillo?”

“Awesome! So, I’m going to the Zoo-”

“Oh! I know this game!” Carl’s face brightened up.

“Sweet! Do you wanna start or do you want me to?”

“I’ll go since I chose the animal.”

“I’m going to the Zoo and I’m bringing an armadillo.”

We got through the entire alphabet. By the time we had reached Z, all the adults were tired of our voices and wanted to get home as soon as possible. We reached the house with a happy Carl and an annoyed group of adults. I was content because I made Carl happy. I did this all the time with the children I worked with. That was when I was in my college education class.

When I clambered out of the vehicle, Shane was by my side and Rick was walking over here with an Asian man beside him. He was slightly shorter than Rick. There was a baseball cap on his head which made him look a lot younger.

“(Y/N), meet Glenn.” I smiled and held out my hand for him to shake.

“Hi, nice to meet you” I watched as Glenn shook my hand. Once he let go, I let my hand fall.

“Nice to meet you too. I hear you’re a good scavenger, me too.” He smiled, “It’s nice to have someone else. I’m always the one to be asked to go out. At least this time we can take turns risking our lives. Not that you should with the baby and all.”

I chuckled as Glenn rambled. He scratched the back of his head. While Glenn and I were talking, Rick and Shane must have walked off because neither of them were with us.

“Don’t sweat it. I’m not just gonna sit around and do nothing because I’m a mom now. I want to help you guys out and if it’s going out there to scavenge, then that’s what I’ll do. Plus, I got pretty good at it back when it was just me. I know how not to get killed.” Glenn relaxed once I finished talking.

As we talked, someone eventually called for Glenn and we went our separate ways. It was at this time I decided that I should go check on Edward and then thank Dale, once more for his kindness.

I entered the room where I left Eddie and I found that he was awake. His attention seemed to be drawn by a little mobile hanging above his crib. I frowned. I didn’t remember it being there before I left.

Upon closer inspection, I recognized a few things attached to it. There was a little wooden arrow, a bow, and a few feathers. They were all tied to a metal band which hung from the ceiling. Looking at the embellishments, I knew that it must’ve come from Daryl. As it spun, I notice a small block of wood that had something carved into it. It was the nickname Daryl gave Eddie. Lil’ Risk-Taker.

~~~~~~~~~

It was the next morning and I was sitting with the camp. Eddie was sitting on my lap. He was as happy as could be as he looked around him 

I was handed a plate of eggs and some meat by Carol. I smiled at her and she gave me a smile back. I dug into my food and happily chewed my fluffy eggs. The texture wasn’t like normal eggs, but hey, it’s the zombie apocalypse. What can you expect?

Suddenly, Daryl sat next to me. He had a bit of a struggle as he tried to avoid opening his stitches. Also, he had one less hand because he was carrying a plate of food. I quickly placed my plate on the group to help him.

“Here let me help.” I took his plate as he eased himself into the fold up chair.

“Thanks.” Daryl took his plate from me.

“No problem. You’ve got stitches. It’s the least I could do.” The only response I got was a grunt.

With that, I examined the camp. I haven’t been out here much so I was looking at everyone’s living situations. There were tents everywhere and clothesline hanging from the trees. There were a few chairs surrounding the fire which Carol was currently cooking breakfast.

I noticed that each family had grouped together. Or Rick, Lori, and Carl were all together. Shane was standing next to them, Andrea was sharpening her knife, and Dale stood at the edge of the camp. I noticed that T-Dog was beside Carol, helping her cook. Glenn was gazing at Maggie who was standing on her porch.

When I looked at Maggie, I saw that she was shaking her head at Glenn. What was that all about? When I looked back at Glenn, I saw he had stopped googling at Maggie and had is eyes on Dale. Dale was nodding his head. Did everyone know something I didn’t?

I was going to ask Daryl if he knew anything, but before I could, Glenn shot up and moved to stand in front of the camp.

“Uh… Um. Guys. So,” There was a long pause and Glenn looked around nervously. “The barn’s full of walkers.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is just a filler chapter really. I mean, there are some big things in the beginning but for the most part, it’s just me trying to bring some sort of connection between characters. Anyway, enjoy!

I sat there in shock. What in the world was he talking about? There can’t be walkers in the barn! If the group had been here for as long as they’ve said, then someone would’ve heard them by now. How are we just now noticing this?  
Scanning the everybody else’s face, I saw that they all had wide eyes. Rick and Shane had deep frown implanted on their face. Everyone’s bodies were tense. Rick, Shane, and Daryl slowly stood up but Shane was the first one to move.  
He was walking toward the barn in an eerily calm way. I expected the man to shout or show some sort of anger. There was no such thing. He just held that deep frown and had his eyes set on the barn.   
Once Shane was up, Rick and Daryl followed suit. This made everyone follow suit. Carl was tightly holding on to Lori’s hand. The poor kid must be terrified. Yet, when I looked at him, he was acting fine. Lori was the one who wasn’t fine. Carl wasn’t the one who was holding on tightly, it was Lori.  
I held Edmund close to me once we reached the barn. The doors were shut and there wasn’t much sound coming from the old place. Eyeing the barn door, I saw that it was wrapped in chains and a wooden bar kept the door in place. Though, the chains were rusty and old looking. Hey, at least they were trying to keep the dead contained.   
Shane moved closer to the barn and peered in. Suddenly, he turned around and walked toward Rick. “You cannot tell me that you’re all right with this.” Shane’s arm ran into Rick’s as he wandered behind him.  
“No, I’m not, but we’re guests here. This isn’t our land.” Rick struggled to reason with his partner.  
“Oh god! This is our lives, man!” Shane had a fire in his eyes.   
I watched the door as this all happened. It seemed to be fine, but Shane was getting fired up. Who knows how loud this is going to get.  
“Lower your voice!” Glenn whispered yelled. HIs eyes were focused on the door as well.  
“We can’t just sweep this under the rug.” I moved my eyes to Andrea. I hadn’t really talked to her yet. From the few things I’ve put together, I really didn’t want to.   
“It ain’t right. Not remotely.” T-Dog agreed with Andrea.  
“Okay, we’ve either gotta go in there, we’ve gotta make things right or we’ve just gotta go. Now we have been talkin’ about Fort Benning for a long time-”  
“We can’t go!” Rick wasn’t liking Shane’s talk.  
“Why, Rick? Why?”  
“Because my daughter is still out there,” Carol spoke up and my heart twisted from the look on Carol’s face.   
I moved closer to her. She must’ve felt it cause she looked back at me. I grabbed her hand and flashed her a small smile.  
“Okay,” Shane started to scoff. As he scoffed, Shane rubbed his face, “Okay, I think it’s time that we all start to just consider the other possibility.”   
In that instant, I wanted to beat the shit out of Shane. How could he even think that? There is a little girl out, all alone and he just wants to leave her there? Not a chance.  
“Shane! we’re not leaving Sophia behind.”  
“I’m close to findin’ this girl! I jus’ found her damn doll two days ago.” Daryl must have moved closer because he walked out from behind us.   
Smiling, I admired the man. He’s so determined to find that girl. He finally found a lead. He knows he can find her. I only hope that Shane can see that and we go off to get her as soon as possible.  
“You found her doll, Daryl. Tha’s what you did. You found a doll.”  
“You don't know the hell you’re talkin’ about!” Daryl walked up to Shane and threw something near his feet. They both looked at each other. If looks could kill, Shane would’ve been killed instantly.  
“I’m just sayin’ what needs to be said! Now if you get a good lead, it’s in the first forty-eight hours-”  
“Shane stop!” Rick was struggling to keep Daryl and Shane from tearing into each other. I began to worry that Daryl would overpower Rick and beat Shane until he was unrecognizable.  
“Let me tell you somethin’ else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you comin’ all methed out with your buck knife and your geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction, man!”  
That was uncalled for. I knew it was odd, but I was there. I know she wouldn’t have run. And if she had, I would have gone after her. I looked a lot less scary. Even if I was in labor.  
Abruptly, Shane was coming at Daryl. He almost overpowered Rick which then made Lori, Andrea, and Glenn to jump in and help break up the fight. I stood by Carol who looked like she was going to break any minute.   
As Shane and Daryl were separated, I pulled Daryl to stand next to Carol and me. I gave him a pointed look and he just growled. Thankfully, he didn’t go anywhere. He just glared at Shane.  
On the flip side of things. Shane was yelling at Lori who was pushing him farther from everyone else. Rick was in the middle with his arm spread out. He was looking at Shane probably giving Shane the look I just gave Daryl.  
“Keep your hand off of me.” Shane was then pointing at Lori and walking off.  
“Now just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out.”  
That must’ve triggered something in Shane because he was charging towards Rick. “What are ya gonna figure out?!,” Lori pushed Shane back.  
“If we’re gonna stay, then we’re gonna clear this barn! I have to talk him into it. This is his land.”  
“Hershel sees those things in there as people. Sick people. His wife, his stepson.” Dale then butted in.  
“You knew?”  
“Yesterday I talked to Hershel.”  
“And you waited for the night?” Shane was beside himself.  
“I thought we could survive one more night. We did. I was waiting til this morning to say something. But Glenn wanted to be the one.”  
“The man is crazy, Rick. If Hershel thinks those things are alive or- No!” Rick tried to interject, but Shane yelled over him.”  
our little talk had turned into a shout fest and as we all guessed, the door to the barn started to shake. The wakers had heard all the shouting and were trying to get to us. The door began creaking and the chains began to clank. The walker’s growling was overpowering all the loud noise coming from the door and chains. That made Edmund cry.  
The noise made everyone move back a few steps. I wash rocking Edmund and shooshing him in hopes that it could calm him down. I knew that it wasn’t going to help but a girl could hope. When my shooshing didn't do anything, Daryl grabbed my arm and motioned his head toward the camp.  
I gave Carol’s arm a little tug and mimicked Daryl’s movements. With a nod, Carol followed Daryl and me back to the camp. I had let go of Carol's arm, but Daryl hadn’t let go of mine. It didn’t bother me. So I let him pull Eddie and I back to where we were before all this drama.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Once everything had calmed down, I had taken up a conversation with Daryl and Carol. I noticed that Daryl wasn’t talking much. I know he doesn’t talk much, to begin with, but, this time, Daryl only really grunted when he was being talked to.  
Before I could bring it up, Beth was calling my name from the porch. I looked back at her. Motioning me to her, She moved closer to the railing. Without question, I stood up.  
I walked to Daryl’s side and held Edmund in front of him. “Will you take Lil’ Risk-Taker for me?” I added the nickname, hoping that it would sway him.  
Not even with a grunt of acknowledgment, Daryl took Eddie and leaned him against his torso. I smiled at the sight. I let my hand ruffle the little hairs on Eddie’s head before I walked off.   
“What’s up?” I inquired as I reached the porch.  
“So, I have some bad news. Daddy wants you to move into the group’s camp.” Her lips were pressed together and she had her eyebrows knitted.  
“Oh….. Um, okay. Let me go ask Carol if she’ll look after Edmund and I’ll be in to grab my stuff.” With news, I pressed my lips together and made a tiny smile.  
As I walked back to Carol and Daryl, I bit my lip. I knew was going to have to share a tent with someone until I could go out and get a tent for myself. Maybe I could see if Glenn would go out with me before then. Then we could see how well we worked together. First, I have to see if Carol would momentarily take care of Edmund for me.  
I reached the camp only to find Daryl with an arm wrapped around Edmund’s chest while talking with Carol. It wasn’t a whole lot but the sight was cute. Daryl had his rough and tough look while Edmund had his cute little bear onesie on. The stark contrast made a smile form on my face and my stomach do little flips.  
I stopped by Daryl’s side. I stood there waiting for their conversation to finish while also trying to figure out how to explain the situation. At some point, they stopped talking and were both looking at me. That’s when I decided to speak.  
“So, Beth says that Hershel wants Edmund and me to move into the camp with you guys.” There was a mix of emotions on both their faces. First, it was shock, but then Carol’s formed into one of understanding while Daryl’s was angry.  
He was fuming, actually. Staring at one spot on the ground, his eyes were hard and his body was stiff. I cleared my throat. At that, Daryl looked at me.  
“It ain’t right. Ya got a baby and bein’ outside the house is dangerous.” Daryl’s eyes were still hard.”  
“You have to understand where he’s coming from. He has let these strangers into his land. Then he let someone we don’t even know in his house. He just wants his people to be safe and letting a stranger live in his house is compromising that.” Carol tried to reason with Daryl. It helped a little but I could still tell that he wasn’t happy about it.  
“I was wondering if Eddie and I could room in the RV? I know there isn’t much space and I can sleep on the floor if you need me to. I’m thinking about going out there with Glenn sometime, but this is just in case we can’t or something comes up.”  
Before Carol could speak, Daryl did. “No need. I got ya. You can stay in my tent. I can sleep outside for a night. An’ I’ll join you an’ Glenn. Ya don’t need ta worry.”  
I was surprised by Daryl’s hospitality. I heard a few things from the group. Hell, Shane had even said a few things. I knew he wasn’t a hundred percent rainbows and gumdrops, but with how he was acting, he was like a different person. Maybe the group has misjudged Daryl.  
“Okay, I… uh. I’ll go grab my stuff if you’re okay with lookin’ after Eddie a little longer?”  
“Oh, I think he’s more than okay with it. He’s been cuddling the little guy since you gave him to him. It’s been cute to watch.” Carol had a small smirk on her face as Daryl blushed at her comment.  
“‘s okay. I got ‘im.” Daryl had tilted his head to look up at me. I gave a slight nod and made my way toward the house.  
Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t much to pack up. I had been on the road for a while and I didn’t ever carry more than what I thought was necessary. There might have been a few things but those were pictures and nicknacks from before. I never could to toss them.  
Walking out, I struggled to carry everything. I didn’t want to burden Hershel anymore, so I figured I’d try to get everything to Daryl’s tent in one go. Yes, there wasn’t much, but it was a lot to carry with only two hands.  
Suddenly there were two hands grabbing several of my things. I looked beside me to see Carl walking beside me with his arms securely holding my backpack and a few blankets. He had this cute determined look on his face.  
“Thanks for the help, dude.” I bumped into his side. Looking up at me, he flashed me the brightest smile I’ve seen in a while.  
“No problem. I figured you could use the help. Everyone else has a job and I was just sitting down, doing my math homework.” Then Carl’s smile morphed into a grimace.  
“What? Ya don’t like math?”  
“Ugh, who does?”  
“My dad, actually. He used to tell me that there was always a fun way to do math. When I did my homework, he would find a way to make it fun.”  
“Your dad must’ve been cool.”  
“He was.” Thinking about my father brought up some emotions. I haven’t thought of my parent since the beginning. I wonder if he and my mom had made it.  
Making it to the hill, I struggled to get up. The box of clothes was blocking my line of sight. Carl was nice enough to help me navigate my way up. I approached Daryl’s tent and placed everything I was holding in front of it. After I straightened myself out, I watched as Carl followed my actions.  
“Alright kid. Thanks for your help, but I think your momma isn’t going to be happy if you don’t go and finish your homework. If ya need a way to make things fun, come find me. I have a few things up my sleeve.” I gave the boy a wink as he begrudgingly walked back to his homework.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
I had finally, relieved Daryl of Edmund. He seemed a little reluctant to let him go, but Carol told him she needed some help. Daryl was up and making his way toward the woman. The man was doing everything he could to keep Carol from worrying too much about Sophia.  
I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Switching my line of sight, I watch as Beth, her body shaking was with sobs, stumble to a nearby tree. She slid down it and laid her head in her hands.  
I frowned at the sight. My heart swelled with a need to comfort her. Before I knew it, my feet were moving in Beth’s direction. The poor girl was only seventeen and she had gone through so much. I’m surprised that Carl wasn’t going through the same thing.  
As I got closer, I could hear how hard she was trying to keep her sobs quiet. Maybe there was more going on then I thought. Maggie was wrapped up in her drama with Glenn and Hershel was trying his hardest to get our group to leave his farm. No one was there to help Beth.   
Back when I just had Edmund, she had talked a lot about how much she missed her mom and how she wished to go back in time to see her again. Beth was taking this situation really hard and was struggling to cope. Part of that was Hershel’s fault. He keeps feeding his children lies about the dead. Beth still thinks there’s a way to get her mom back and it’s eating her up.  
I came to sit next to her. I had Eddie lay on my legs while making sure that his head was supported. “I know we don’t know each other much, but if you need anything, I’m here.”  
There was a moment of silence and she had taken to staring at the ground. From the way she was unresponsive, it looked like she hadn’t heard me.  
“I- I just miss her. It’s like Maggie doesn’t even care and daddy is too focused on makin’ everyone leave. No one is there for me like they’d told me they would. I feel alone.”  
“Hey,” I bump her shoulder with mine. “I’m here and I can tell you that you’re definitely gonna make it through. Maggie and your dad may not know that they’re ignoring you, but at least they’re still alive. I cannot tell you what it was like wandering around without anyone to back me up. You surely can get through this with your sister and your father, if I can make it out there pregnant and alone.”  
There was something in her eyes that changed. “It didn’t occur to me that you were alone out there. I’m sorry.”  
“What for?”  
“Actin’ like this when you had it harder than me.”  
“You don’t need to apologize. Everyone has their own breaking points. Yours just happened to be at this moment.” As I talked I notice Beth had stopped crying. “Ya good now? ‘Cause I know a certain boy who could use a little cheering up after some nasty math homework. Plus from what I hear you're pretty good with kids.” There was a small smirk on my face.  
“Yeah, I guess I can play a few games with Carl. He’s not to hard to handle.”  
“Atta girl.” We both stood up.   
I picked up Edmund and held him in one arm. With the other hand, I patted Beth on her back before she walked off.  
With Beth going to cheer up poor Carl, I made my way back to my stuff. I was hoping to put things away, with no drama involved. That was until I saw Carol, crying while walking to the RV. Today just had to be drama day.  
I reached Carol before she climbed into the RV. “Hey, hey. What’s wrong?”  
“Nothing. Daryl’s just angry and I happened to be in his way. He said a few nasty words.”  
“What’s he so angry over? Is this about what Shane said this morning?”  
“No, he was trying to go out and look for Sophia. I tried to talk him out of it because of his wound, but he just got mad and hurt himself.”  
“Okay, I’ll go talk to him.”  
“Are you sure? He can get unpleasant to be around when he’s angry.”  
“I’ll be fine. I have a feeling that Daryl isn’t the type to hurt someone without a purpose.” With that, I patted Carol’s shoulder and walked to where I saw the man in question.  
“Hey, Dixon?” I asked calmly when I reached his camp.  
“What the hell ya want, woman?” Daryl was sitting on the ground, with a knife in hand. Sharpening wood for new arrows, Daryl’s knuckles had turned white and his eyes were practically glaring at the stick in his hand.   
“I understand that you want to find Sophia but you also need to heal. You’re not going to be any help to her if you tear your stitches and end up bleeding out.” All I got was a grunt. “Does this have to do with what Shane said? If it is, he’s an idiot. He’s just scared.”  
“‘S not tha’.”  
“Then what? You’re an important member of the group. And you can’t go out and get yourself hurt even worse than what you already are. We need you. Daryl scraped off a few wood shavings. He didn't say anything for a moment.  
“Why the hell ya askin’? You don’t know me! Why don’ ya jus’ go away an’ leave me the hell alone?” Daryl’s yelling made Edmund stir in my arms.  
“Because I care.” Daryl snorted. “Yeah, I don’t know you, but I know you’re the kind of person who would put himself into harm's way to save a pregnant woman. Even in the zombie apocalypse.” Daryl looked like he was about to yell again, but he stopped and took a deep breath. There was a pause as he thought.  
“When I was a kid I got lost in the woods. Jus’ me an’ the clothes on my back. Merle was in juvie an’ my dad was who knows where. I was out there fer nine days. I ended up gettin’ poison oak on my ass for wipin’ it with the leaves. By the time I found my way home it was dark an’ no one was there to welcome me. Nobody cared. I don’ want Sophia to out there thinkin’ no one cares. No kid needs to go through that.” He was looking directly into my eyes with hardened eyes. His mouth was set into a firm line.  
My brows were drawn together and my mouth was held slightly agape. As I stared at the man in front of me, my heart twisted in pain. There was so much that he had gone through. I only know of a few instances but I had a feeling that there were more. I could just tell that the man had been through some hardships, but never anything like extreme neglect.  
“Daryl-“ I began.  
“I don’ need your pity. I already got tha’ from the folks in town.”  
“Okay,” I don’t know what it was but there was thing lingering feeling. It made me want to engulf this man into my arms and never let him go. He was right.No one should have to go through that. “Can I hug you? I really need to hug you.”  
Daryl grunted but didn’t decline. He didn’t move or give me any indication to go ahead. He just sat there.   
I sat down next to him and wrapped my free arm around him. When my arm brushed against his back, Daryl flinched. I paused. When he seemed to relax, I let my arm fully wrap around him. It was awkward, but I felt like got my point through. There were people that cared for him now. Edmund was laying in my lap while I let Daryl go.  
Daryl’s had a small flush to it which made me giggle on the inside. “I hope you know that you’re cared for. I, as well as Carol and Rick really care for and appreciate you. You’re not alone anymore. And we know how much you want to find Sophia, but you need to lay low. Get better and then you can help us find her. For now, Rick will try his hardest to find her.”  
Daryl chewed in his thumb. “A’ight, I’ll try. no promises.”   
I gave him a nod of my head. Suddenly, I was reaching toward his hand and pushing it away from his mouth. “You need to stop that. You can hurt teeth.” With an eye roll, the man focused back on his knife and stick.  
“No, that we’ve established that, I think you should go and apologize to Carol. She was crying when I found her. I know you didn’t mean what you said but I think she would appreciate your apology.” I Stood up but didn’t leave. I waited for an answer from Daryl.  
“I’ll apologize. Let me get a little further on this arrow I’m makin’ an’ I’ll make my way ta her.” Contempt with his answer, I picked up Edmund and walked to where I last saw Lori.  
~~~~~~~~~  
I found Lori sitting against a tree. She was watching Beth play tag with Carl. The two seemed to be having a good time which had put a smile on Lori’s face. I walked up and sat down next to her. She shifted to face me.  
“Hey.”  
“Hey. So…. I was wonderin’ if you’d look after Eddie for me? I want to go on a quick run with Glenn before night falls. I moved all my stuff next to Daryl’s but I don’t want to intrude anymore than I am.”  
“Yeah. I’ll look after him.” Lori motioned for me to hand over Edmund to her.  
“Thank you. I’ll try not to be long. If Glenn is as good as Rick and Shane say he is, we shouldn’t be too long.”  
“He is. Take as long as you need. It’s not like I’m doing anything at the moment.” Then Lori was motioning for me to go off and find Glenn.  
I walked off toward the Rv. The last time I saw him, he was on watch. I passed T-Dog who was fiddling with something in camp. I didn’t take much notice as I walked on.  
When I did reach the Rv, I peered up the Rv to find Glenn still up there. I had to shield my eyes from the sun“Hey, Glenn?”  
“Yeah?” He asked.  
“Would you be willing to out on a run with me? I need to get a tent for Edumund and me. Maybe even a few baby things.”  
“Um… Dale asked if I would keep watch.” Glenn shrugged as he spoke.  
“Well, I just saw T-Dog in camp. I could go and ask him if he’d take over for ya.”  
Without an answer, I walked back to camp. T-Dog was sitting in a lawn chair examining a bandage that was around his forearm. When I approached him, he moved his gaze toward me.  
“Hey.”  
“Hey.”  
“So, Glenn is taking watch at the moment and I need him to go on a run real quick. Just for a tent and a few baby things. Could you possibly take over for him while we go out? From what Glenn told me, Dale should be back soon to take over. Said that He asked Glenn to take over for him.”  
“Well, seeing as I have nothin’ else to do. I guess I could.”  
“Awesome. I’ll go tell him.” With that, I was making my way back to Glenn.  
“T-Dog said he’d take over.”  
“Sweet. Let me go grab a few things and then we can be on our way.” Glenn climbed down the Rv and made his way to his tent.   
As Glenn did that, I decided to grab a few of my things. So, I jogged back to Daryl and I’s set up. I found my backpack leaning against the stone wall with all my other stuff. When I opened my bag, I was surprised to find the pistol that used to be Derek’s. I pulled it out only to find three bullets inside the mag. It’ll have to do.  
Walking back to camp, I found that Glenn was finishing up. He had set out a few water bottles and a few baggies filled with vegetables. Eagerly, I grabbed one of each for myself. With the supplies packed away, I threw my backpack on.  
Glenn was read yo go by that point. He and I clambered into one of the many vehicles waiting in front of the Greene house. Sitting in the passenger seat, I watched as things passed by the car.  
There were a few words passed between us, but for the most part, the two of us were silent. I think part of it had to do with the situation we found ourselves in. In one of our short conversations, we talk about what we thought about it.  
“I don’t know what to think or to do. One part of me wants to leave it be. Maggie was mad about me telling everyone about the barn. How would she react if we took matters into our own hands? Yet, I’m worried about everyone else. We have Carl and now Edmund. If those walkers broke out, then we’d be toast. Especially, if it were to be in the middle of the night.”  
“I understand. I’d feel the same way if I was in your shoes. All I know is that we need the farm because it’s safe, but it won't be if we leave the walkers in there. I have a feeling that Shane is going to do something about it.”  
“And why do you say that?”  
“Just the way he reacted this morning. It did get out of hand but he was calm about it. Hasn’t he been fighting Rick for control of the group? The only reason I say that is he’s been questioning everything Rick does. The only time that I saw then agree on things was when we went to the rage.”  
“Yeah, it’s been pretty bad since Rick showed up at Atlanta.”  
“Right, ‘cause he wasn’t with Lori at the beginning.”  
“Shane said before the outbreak, Rick had gotten shot. He supposedly was in some sort of a coma. Shane was with Rick when it all broke out. Said that Rick had died.”  
“Damn. So, what? He grabbed Lori and Carl and got the hell out of dodge?”  
“Pretty much.” Glenn chuckled. “I was in the middle of Atlanta when it hit. I was on my way to delivering a pizza when the police started direction us out of the city. That’s when I ran into T-Dog.”  
“Then what? Did you find Shane or did you just happen to stumble into their camp?”  
“We ran into Shane. He figured we were going to hurt anyone and he took us the camp.”  
“Huh, must’ve happened really fast.”  
“Yeah. What about you?”  
“Um… well, I wasn’t pregnant.” Glenn chuckled. “I was with my boyfriend at the time. We had met in college. When shit hit the fan, both of us were in my dorm.” There was a pause I reflected on how quickly it went down, “I didn’t find out I was expecting until two weeks after the breakout. About a month later, Derek was bitten and I was on my own.”  
“so you were alone for most of your pregnancy?”  
“Yeah, it was scary but I made it work.” I was going to ask how he didn’t know these things, but I remembered that I only told the group who went to the shooting range.  
That was the end of the conversation and we were swallowed by silence again. it wasn’t bad. Being out, alone and pregnant, made the silence more bearable. Though it was nice to talk to someone again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s here and it’s long-awaited! I’m sorry it took forever to get out but it’s here! I finally found a point where I’m happy with it. It’s not as long as I wanted but I think it’s an okay chapter. Without further adieu, part four of Querencia.

We made it to the dead infested town. There were many of the walkers stumbling around, doing their own thing while some were attracted to the sound of the truck. I hoped where we were going it was less populated.  
As we passed by the walkers, both Glenn and I could smell the stench that came off them. It was so bad, I questioned how none of the living wasn't infected by other diseases yet. The smell was a telltale that the dead bodies were covered in some kind of disease.  
The truck stopped and brought me out of my thoughts. Already out of the truck, Glenn was motioning for me to hurry up. I Climbed out and surveyed the area. Surprisingly, there weren’t any immediate threats. I deemed it safe enough to push forward. Grabbing my backpack, I caught up to Glenn.  
Glenn had a map spread out on the hood of the truck. As I examined the map, I noticed a few things were circled and labeled. Grocery store, daycare, Grannies Place. The list went on.  
“What do you think we should hit first?” I wondered.  
“I’m not sure. You just need a tent and some baby things, right?”  
“Yeah, but if you need anything, we can look for those things too.”  
“Okay, I can’t think of anything right now, but we could always look for some supplies.” I nodded as Glenn put the map away, “Let’s head to the little store over there. Glenn pointed to the right of us.  
We didn't walk far. The truck was just around the corner. We could still make a quick escape if needed.  
Glenn motioned to me as we had reached the front door. With a nod his way, I banged on the door. We waited a few seconds. When there was no noise, I slowly opened the door and walked in.  
The place was quite full compared to most places. Shelving held their respective items. A few things were missing, but they weren’t anything like the bare shelving I’d been seeing for months.   
Pleasantly surprised, I flashed Glenn a broad smile. He gave me a smile back. Before walking further into the store, I pulled a cart from the cart corral. I began to scan the items on the shelving. I kept an eye out for the items I needed as well as items I thought would be great o have at the farm.  
Thankfully, neither of us made too much noise. There was the scuffle of Glenn’s shoes or the clank from when an item was moved. This was just the way I liked it. No noise equals no walkers.  
When I was on my own, I always tried to be as quiet as a mouse. AS if this couldn’t be any more perfect, Glenn was just as quiet. I’m quite pleased with this turn of events. There was definitely more runs between the two of us in the future.  
Breaking out of my thoughts, I finally stumble upon the very small baby section. Unfortunately, there was only diapers, baby formula, and baby powder. the area was practically untouched. I guess no sane person would plan on having any babies during the zombie apocalypse.  
I threw two boxes of diapers in the cart and several tins of baby formula. I didn’t want to risk anything. I very well could die at any moment and Edmund would be without a source of nutrients. This formula is just insuring me that Edmund would be okay under any circumstances.  
Moving on from the baby section, I looked out from any items we could use back at the camp. There were a few cans here and there an maybe a roll of bandages. As I moved further into the store it started to look like the store had been picked of its goods and left with all the useless things.  
“Hey, did you find anything good?" I asked once I met Glenn by the front door.  
“Noting we originally set out for.” the only things that were in Glenn’s cart, was a few bags of rice, an assortment of noodles, and a small bag of beef jerky.  
“How in the hell were you able to find beef jerky?”  
“It was locked in a room with a walker. I killed the walker and scavenged the area. I found the jerky under a pile of empty fruit roll-up boxes."  
“Well, that’s convenient.”  
“Tell me about it.”  
“Okay, we got baby stuff, rice, noodles, beef jerky, and miscellaneous things for the camp. The two things I didn’t find were a tent, crib, or a playpen.” I sighed.  
“Playpen? What do you need that for?”  
“Well, it could work as a makeshift crib. I can’t imagine many people stole any cribs, but if there happens to be a shortage, I could just stuff a few blankets into a playpen and boom. You got yourself a crib.”  
“Makes sense, I guess.”  
We moved out of the store. Glenn drove the cart with all our stuff while I look around the area. This is a pretty small town, but there has to be some sort of daycare around. If there is, they must have a crib. “We’re all loaded up. Do ya want to head back to camp?”  
“Actually, I was thinking that there has to be a daycare around here. I’m pretty sure a daycare would have a crib.”  
“There’s one somewhere close by,” I raised my eyebrows. “When Maggie and I came down here for some supplies, I remember seeing one. Let’s get into the truck and I’ll drive to where I remember seeing it.”  
It didn’t take long. Making sure there weren’t any walkers, Glenn and I   
crept around the building. Discovering it was safe, We moved to an open window. Each of us clambered through and waited for any sign of walkers inside. It was freaky how well I had gotten used to checking for threats.  
“Alright, most daycares should have separated the building for each age group. That’s what the one I worked at did.”  
Glenn nodded in my direction. With light feet, I followed Glenn around the daycare. We looked to be in the k-5th section. I figured the nursery should be close by.  
Sneaking through, I observed the rooms we passed. Toys were strewn across the floors. Several blankets and pillows accompanied the toys on the floor. Everything seemed to be left in a hurry. Some of the cabinet doors were wide open with diapers and baby bottles piled in front of them. Someone had made and attempt to grab as many as they could.   
I tried not to think of the workers and children. I didn’t even want to contemplate where they were and what had happened to them. Those kinds of thoughts brought you to a dark place that I did not want to venture towards.  
Finally, we reached the infant's section. As it was before, the place was just as messy and things were piled across the floor. Though, with one glance into a room, my eyes landed on what I was looking for.  
The crib I saw wasn’t the only crib in the room. There were two more beside it but before I could walk into the room, I had to stop Glenn. He had walked passed the room and was a few paces away from where I was.  
“Glenn, I found a crib.” As I spoke his name, Glenn whipped his head in my direction.  
Nodding his head, Glenn walked to where I was standing. Once we were in the room we realized something. We have no way of getting this thing out. Fortunately, I saw a large window. If we could get the window open we could just shove the whole thing out.   
“That window should be big enough to push the crib out. Since this building is only one floor, we don’t have to worry about any breakage.”  
Walking over to the window, I looked for the string that would pull the blinds up. I found it and in a second the blinds were out of the way. The window was locked by a latch. All I had to do was flick it and it would unlock.   
All that was left, or what I thought, was to crank a lever and the window would be open. I soon realized that the window had a screen protector attached to it. With a slight push, the protector popped off.  
“So, we just push it out and walk around the building to grab it?” Glenn was probably thinking of a way to get to the crib after we push it out.  
“Essentially," I replied.  
“Did you check for any walkers around? We could run into a problem when we go back to get it.”  
“I didn’t. Let me look real quick,” With a look around, I found maybe two or three walkers trampling around, “There’s a few. Nothing we can’t take care of.”  
"Okay, let's get this bad boy out." nodding in his direction, Glenn got ready. He pushed the end closest to the door while I took the side closest to the window. I made sure that nothing would make too much noise while Glenn maneuvered the crib through the widow. With a little tumble, the crib settled on the ground. Thankfully nothing broke.  
“Alright!” I raised my hand for a high five “That wasn’t so hard.” Chuckling at my comment, Glenn high fived me.  
“Okay, now we need to get out of here and head back.” Glenn finished talking when he started walking to the window we came in.  
As I had seen before, there were a couple of walkers stumbling about. Making quick work of the stragglers, Glenn and I were soon moving the crib into the bed of the truck. I tied a rope that we found around the crib to make sure it was secure.  
When we got into the truck for the final time, I realized how much time had passed. It had already passed mid-day. Dale was probably back and was wondering where Glenn had run off to.  
“So much for a quick run.” I pointed to the time.  
“Eh, I doubt many people noticed our absence.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The ride back was quite different from the one into town. We were pretty much talking to each other about everything. We didn’t go too deep but it was mostly over the things we did before the outbreak.  
“Okay, okay. What was your favorite road trip food?" I sat there thinking for a moment.  
"Um… I don't know. I didn't really have a go-to snack. It was a mix of things. What about you?"   
“Beef jerky or a bag of Doritos. That was always the best.”  
“Whelp, We’ve got some now. Sometime in the future, we could make more.   
It probably wouldn’t be beef but if Daryl hunts a deer, deer jerky could be in the near future.”  
“So, nothing specific to eat, but are you someone who would listen to the radio or be in control of what’s playing?”  
“Pfft. I was known as the best DJ in my group of friends. I always had my road trip playlist queued on my iPod.” Glenn laughed at the mention of my iPod.   
There was a pause afterward. Glenn watched the road while I watched the passing trees. My mind wandered to the group. After a while, I spoke up. “Hey, Glenn?”  
“Yeah?”  
“What do you think of the group?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Do you think the group is going to last?”   
There was a pause. The little silence there was made me think he didn’t believe the group would last but then he came out of his thoughts.  
“I would like to believe that the group as a whole will, but there are just so many conflicts on the group. So, yes. I think we’ll last. How many will survive? I don’t know. People are going to die and you can bet that we’re gonna try our hardest to keep them alive but In this world? There's always going to be deaths."   
We approached the farm while I thought over what was just said. I hadn’t been in the group for long, but I do know that there would be deaths, but from the potential I see, most of these people will prevail.  
Once the truck had come to a complete stop, I made my way toward the bed. I wanted to get the crib to Daryl’s tent as soon as possible and to relieve Lori from Edmund. She’s probably fed up with him. I’ve heard that newborns are a handful.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
After unloading the truck, I asked if Glenn would help me one last time. With Glenn’s help, We moved the crib to Daryl’s tent. I thanked Glenn and he went back to the RV.  
After putting up the crib, I noticed that Lori was heading towards me. In her arms was a not so happy Edmund. I knew it was because he was hungry. The last time he ate was right before I left. Oh my gosh, I am a terrible mother.  
“I am so sorry!” I said as soon as Lori was close enough to hear me.  
“It's fine. He just started to cry. For most of the time, you were gone he napped. Your little guy is a dream. I had him in a carate with his blankets while I cut up some vegetables. He might’ve had a fit here and there but I gave him a paci and he was fine."  
“Oh good. I didn’t mean to be out for so long. I did find this though,” I motioned behind me where the crib was placed.  
Lori smiled at the crib. “That’ll make things a little easier on you. If you need more help, I’m here. All I do around here is watch the kids and prepare a few meals. That gives me plenty of free time and I don’t mind more time with this little guy. There are some things you miss from the early days. This lets me relive them.”  
“Well, soon you’ll have one of your own.”  
“That just means we’ll have to help each other. Bringing kids into this world isn’t going to be easy.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
I was on the porch of the Greene’s house reading a few baby books to Edmund. From my psychology class, I remember it saying that reading to your child, no matter how old, will only help them in the long run.  
Edmund was leaning on my chest as I was read. As expected, he wasn't really paying attention. This was okay. The thing that matters is that he was hearing me. Even though we’re in an apocalyptic world, I still want Edmund to have a rounded education.  
“Why are you reading to him? Isn’t he too little?” Carl suddenly questioned while he sat down next to me.  
“No, it’s actually important for me to read to him. Or at least to speak to him. It’s soothing for Edmund. Also, it familiarizes him with my voice and our language.”  
Just as Carl was about to reply, I noticed that Andrea and T-Dog were approaching the porch. Their steps were fast. Both of their lips were turned down and their brows were pulled together. As they got closer I could tell something was up.  
“Do you know what’s goin’ on?” T-Dog wondered.  
Right after T-Dog spoke Andrea asked, “where is everyone?”  
“You haven’t seen Rick?” Glenn had a worried tone to his voice.  
“He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave hours ago.”  
Daryl, along with Carol walked up. They both had been out as long as Andrea and T-Dog.  
"Yeah, you were. What the hell?"   
“Rick told us he was going out.”  
“Damn it! Isn’t anyone taking this serious? We got us a damn trail,” It was at this time that Shane came walking up the driveway, “Ah, here we go.”  
As Daryl calmed down, I noticed that Shane was holding the bag of guns. No one was supposed to carry a gun around here. Why was Shane prancing around with a whole bag of them?  
“What’s all this?” Daryl glared towards Shane as he held out a gun to him.  
“You with me, man?” Daryl took the gun from Shane, “Time to grow up. You already got yours?” Shane looked to Andrea.  
“Yeah, where’s Dale?”  
“He’s on his way.”  
“Thought we couldn’t carry.” T-Dog took a pistol from Shane.  
“Yeah, well, we can and we have to. Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was safe. But now we know it ain’t.” Shane now, moved toward Glenn, “How ‘bout you, man? You gonna protect what’s yours?” Shane offered up a shotgun. Glenn took it.  
Moving to Maggie, Shane asked, “Can you shoot?”  
“Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, My dad will make you leave tonight.”  
"We have to stay, Shane," Carl interjected.   
Lori came outside. She looked a bit frazzled. “What is this?” Lori came to stop before the stairs.  
"We ain’t goin’ nowhere. Okay? Now look, Hershel, he’s just gotta understand. Okay, he-. Well, he’s gonna have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right? Huh? Now I want you to take this. You take this, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on and take the gun and do it.”  
Lori stepped in front of her son. “Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make.”  
Off in the distance, you could see some movement. As they walked further into the farm, you could see it was Hershel, Rick, and Jimmy. That wasn’t the shocking part. In Rick’s and Hershel’s hands were pole snares and in those pole snares were walkers. The men were leading hem to the barn which we knew was currently holding a horde of walkers.   
“Oh shit, What is that? What is that?" At this sight, Shane took off running in Rick's direction. His body was stiff and his face was bright red. This was a man you didn’t want to run into.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’m back with another part! How long has it been since I updated? Let’s not think about that right now…. I’m not really happy with it though. The ending is kinda meh to me but I hope you guys enjoy it! Also, I have a playlist for this fic. If anyone wants to check it out here it is: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3XtGLwJf0V9yBkWWE232zi?si=F4q3-A_1SrmaebLAWjDsvQ.

Shane was fuming and his muscles were stiff. As soon as Shane made the first move, everybody else followed. I followed suit but in a slower manner. I still had Edmund in my arms.  
A crunching sound came from my right. I glanced in that direction. Beside me, Carol matched my pace. I guess she didn’t want to run either.  
Lori was behind Carol and I could hear her shout Shane’s name. She was struggling to keep up like the rest of the group. Shane obviously had a head start, being the first one to witness what came out of the woods.  
However, everyone else was in a clump of people stumbling over the grass and sticks which had fallen on the ground. The gravel on the ground near the barn didn’t help. Even with the things in the way everyone persevered.  
Shane had made it to where Rick and Hershel stopped. Some of the members of the group had stopped behind Rick and Hershel. Lori and Carl stood in front of Carol and me but behind everyone else.  
The closer I got, the better I could see. Rick and Hershel were holding onto poles. The poles had a snare at the end which was currently wrapped around a walkers neck. What the hell is Rick thinking? This isn’t solving any of our problems. It’s causing more problems.  
I stopped behind Daryl while cradling Edmund to my chest. I was trying to shield him from all the shouting going on. From behind me, I noticed that Carol had stopped walking and was holding her hands to her chest.  
“What the hell are you doing?” Shane roared in Rick's direction.  
With the same amount of force, rick yelled back, “Shane, just back off!” Shane had begun to circle around the two men. His muscles were still stiff and a few veins in his neck were protruding outwards.  
“Why do your people have guns?” Poor Hershel hadn’t caught on.  
“Are you Kiddin’ me? You see? You see what they’re holdin’ onto?”  
“I see who I’m holding onto!” Hershel had begun to raise his voice.  
“Nah, man, you don’t!”  
Rick was struggling to calm down his best friend. “Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk,” Rick looked conflicted. He couldn’t let go of the pole but his words didn’t seem to be making an effect on Shane.  
“What you want ta talk about, Rick? These things ain’t sick! They’re not people. They’re dead. Ain’t gonna feel nothin’ for them ‘cause all they do, they kill!” As Shane talked, he stalked around Hershel and Rick. It was as if he was a vulture circling his prey, “These things right here, they’re the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They’re gonna kill all of us-”  
“Shane, shut up!” Rick still had a grip on the snare pole but looked to be seriously considering letting go to prevent Shane from causing more bad than good.  
“Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Can a living breathing person, could they walk away from something like this?” Shane shoots three rounds into the walker  
“No!” Rick shouts out.  
With the impact of the bullets, Hershel seemed to be a little shocked. His face was blank. Maggie had stumbled away from the walker too afraid of getting accidentally shot.  
Those who carried guns, had them trained on the walkers. The others, though, were tense. With wide eyes, they, including me, watched on.  
“Stop it!” Rick was helpless. This was his third attempt at trying to stop Shane without getting physical.  
“That’s three rounds in the chest. Could someone who’s alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still coming?” Shane fires two more rounds, “That’s it’s heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?” Shane fires three more rounds.  
“Shane, enough!” With the fourth attempt, Rick finally got through to Shane, but it didn’t give the preferred outcome.  
“Yeah, you’re right man. That is enough,” I watched as Shane trekked up to the walker and fired one last blow to the brain. The walker’s head, from the force, flew back and its body crumpled to the ground with a thunk.  
As the walker fell, Hershel’s grip on the pole loosened. The pole slipped from his hands. Hershel had an unreadable expression on his face; His eyes were trained on the once animated corps as it plummeted to the ground.  
Hershel himself fell on his knees.  
Those around me were shocked and appalled. A few still had their guns aimed at the last standing walker while others were either staring at the lifeless walker or covering their mouths. Jimmy even threw his hands up to clutch his head.  
“Enough riskin’ our lives for a little girl who’s gone! Enough livin’ next to a barn full of things that trying to kill us. Enough. Rick, it ain’t like it was before! Now if y’all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I’m talkin’ ‘bout fighting right here, right now.” Shane’s whole body was still stiff and shaking. Finally, he turns and runs toward the barn doors.  
At this point, there are a few sobs. I filled up with fear while my anxiety levels rose. Edmund had begun to cry. The shots from Shane’s gun had woken him up. I tried to calm him down but all the noises were only making him more upset.  
Hershel had a distant look in his eyes. Rick tried to get Hershel to take the snare-pole but it was to no avail. Hershel had escaped into his mind. His blank face and his empty stare made that evident.  
Behind me, Lori stood closer and called out for Rick. She was trying to get him to hurry up and stop Shane. It was pointless. Hershel wasn’t present and Rick wouldn’t let go of the snare-pole.  
Sure enough, Shane made it to the barn doors. He had grabbed a pickaxe and was attempting to break the chains that held them closed. Bang! Bang! Bang! Shane had moved from the chains to splintering the wood of the doors.  
As all of this is happening, Several members had taken to shouting, screaming, or simply grew paralyzed where they were. Rick was trying to get Shane to stop by yelling at him. He wasn’t making much of an effort to stop him though.  
I Couldn’t do much other than stand and watch with my arms around Edmund. I watched all this go on. I saw how Rick failed to do anything, how Daryl kept his shotgun aimed at the walker on the snare pole, and Lori and Carol stand further back with mouths agape. they let an occasional wail slip. So much was going on at one moment. I was quite overwhelming and I could feel the panic overtake me.  
Finally, Shane ripped open the lock and had removed the wooden board that helped keep the barn doors shut. From behind me, I heard Lori call out for Rick. Glenn yelled something out but the panic had prevented me from hearing exactly what it was he said. My first instinct was to step further back to prevent Edmund from getting hurt and so I did.  
Removing the useless chains from the door, Shane slammed his had on the door a few times. This aggravated the walkers inside which caused their growls to become more intense. Shane quickly backed away from the barn.  
“Get behind me.” Lori, yet again spoke up, but it was more towards Carl than to anyone else.  
Drawing his pistol and cocking it, Shane was now a safe distance away from the barn. A few seconds after he had readied himself, the barn doors opened and the undead rushed out.  
They stumbled out one by one. Each monster was covered in blood. They looked at each of us as if we were their next meal. As more trickled out the louder their moans grew.  
The moans were loud enough to make Edmund screech. His cries agitated the walkers ahead of me. Daryl had moved from where he was to block me. This gave not only protection to Edmund and I but also to Carol, Carl, and Lori.  
The gunshots had started when the geeks got close enough to comfort. Shane had taken the first shot which then prompted the other to start as well. Once it had begun, there was no going back.  
As one shot was fired a walker fell down dead. Yet as one corpse collapsed another shuffled out. I couldn’t’ve imagined how many geeks were crammed into the little barn.  
Somewhere, Glenn hesitantly called to Maggie. He was unsure if it was okay for him to join the others. The boy was concerned for Maggie, he didn’t want to ruin the potential relationship he could have with her. Fortunately for him, Maggie gave him a nod of assurance.  
My attention was drawn from the two as Shane turned around. He, without hesitation, shot the walker that Rick still had trapped in the snare. This allowed Rick to release the pole.  
As Rick dropped the pole, I saw Lori dash for her husband. She still had Carl within her grasp. Rick had seen Lori move. Soon after, He demanded that they stay back.  
I had moved from standing behind Daryl and Rick to standing next to Carol. We both had unconsciously moved closer to each other. Carol was breathing just as hard as I was. She was pretty tense as her hands clutched to the clothing that covered her chest.  
AS quickly as it had started, the shots stopped. A few of the members had put down their weapons. From where I stood, my eyes sought out Daryl. I watched as he slowly let the barrel of his gun lower.  
We all stood there in silence. I was still somewhat tense. Carol beside me had moved to cover her mouth. One of her hands still grasping her shirt. The people in front of me looked at all the corpses that now littered the ground. Each one of us still taking in quick, deep breaths.  
Thankfully, Edmund had quieted down. With the lack of gunshots, Edmund could find peace and fell back asleep. His little head moved up and down as I breathed.  
Hershel was still kneeling on the ground while staring at the corpses.  
Maggie was right beside him. Patricia and Jimmy were holding onto Beth. Rick was all over the place. I watched as his eye flicked back and forth to the, now, dead bodies then to Shane. Everyone who had guns surveyed what they had contributed to.  
From behind me, I could hear someone or something cautiously approach the scene. Turning around, I saw Dale stalk closer to the group. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  
Then, there came a growl from the open barn doors. At first, my face morphed into one of unbelief. I didn’t want to witness what just happened again.  
When another growl bounced out of the barn. I listened to it, carefully this time. That wasn’t any other walker growl. It sounded different. As if it was coming from a child.  
A pain shot through my being. It was as if a sharp knife lodged itself into my heart. I felt tears well up in my eyes and trail down my face. A little girl, no older than twelve stumbled out of the two doors. My legs became weak and I fell to the ground.  
From the way Carol wailed in pain beside me, I knew that this was the girl this group had been looking for. Suddenly, Carol was darting toward her daughter’s undead form. Before she could get anywhere near her, Daryl caught her and held her back.  
“Sophia? Sophia!” Carol continued to sob.  
Ahead of me, Lori was Crying out while trying to shield Carl from the scene. Carl, himself, had tears flowing down his face. The poor boy couldn’t comprehend the situation. He had been so sure that his friend would make it out. He was so sure that he would get to see her alive and well.  
The closer that Sophia got, the louder and more aggressive her snarls became. Somehow she was able to traverse the numerous bodies that were scattered on the ground. Seconds passed and nobody did anything. Carol, Lori, and Carl’s cries being the only sounds coming from the group.  
Finally, rick moved. With stiff movements, he advanced toward the girl. He moved passed the front line only to raise his pistol upwards. Cocking the gun, he aimed it at Sophia’s head. There was a pause. Then, with a loud sound, rick fired and Sophia’s body flew backward.  
Carol’s yowls only grew louder after the shot. Daryl still had a grip on her as she pressed herself into the ground. Carol then clawed at the ground in exasperation.  
“Don’t look. Don’t look.” Daryl was struggling with Carol. She had begun to wriggle out of his hold.  
As a response, Daryl lifted her from to ground so she could stand. Carol broke from his grasp. He tried to grab her again but Carol was slapping his hands away. Once free, Carol turned around and walked away from the group.  
When Carol looked up, she let her eyes meet mine. I couldn’t look in her eyes for long. I felt guilty. There I stood with my only child when she had just lost hers. I know I didn’t do anything, but I still felt responsible for getting her hopes up.  
When I looked back up, I saw that Daryl had started to walk towards me. His eyes were looking where Carol had disappeared to.  
“Hey,” Daryl’s gruff voice filtered through my ears.  
“Hi,”  
“You okay?” His brows were furrowed and he leaned toward both Edmund and I. Lifting his empty hand, he let his hand brush the little hairs on Eddie’s head.  
“I- Um, Yeah. What about you?”  
“Yeah, jus’ worried ‘bout her,” Daryl nodded in the direction of Carol.  
“Me too. I feel a little guilty.” Daryl’s face morphed. His brows still furrowed and he was squinting his eyes as if to study me.  
“What ya mean?”  
“Well, here I am with Edmund and She just lost Sophia. It was like I was putting Edmund on display. Or the fact that I encouraged her to have faith that her baby would be okay, that Sophia would be returned to her.”  
“Nah, you can’t help that. She knows that too.”  
“I hope so.”  
With that, Daryl was heading toward wherever Carol had run off to. I decided before anything more happened, that I would leave as well. I did still have Edmund in my arms.  
I had begun to turn around when Beth let out a scream. Without hesitation, I was turning back around. I assessed the situation. Beth was being pulled back by Rick and Shane while the others tried to kill the walker that grabbed her.  
When Beth was freed, Maggie and Hershel were dragging her back to the house. I wanted to make sure that she was okay, so I followed them. The other members trailed behind me.  
Unfortunately, before I could even talk to Beth, both Maggie and Hershel, told everyone off. Then the family walked into their house with a slam of their door.  
Once that had blown over, I left to go to the tent I shared with Daryl. I placed Edmund in his crib. Clambering out of the tent, I sat on a log outside. As I sat, I took a moment to gather myself.  
I had been on my own for quite some time. I had seen somethings. Today though? I have been fortunate enough to have not run into any children out there. I don’t know what I would’ve done had I been put in that situation.  
What was I doing? What is the future going to look like? Am I going to be like Carol in a few years? In a few months? I don’t want that. I couldn’t handle that. I don’t even know how Carol is handling it.  
Then it hit me. I’m sitting here worrying about myself when I should be in there with her. I should be helping Carol with her own thoughts.  
When I first joined, She had welcomed me with open arms. What am I  
doing to repay her? Just sitting around feeling sorry for something that hasn’t happened? I needed to be with Carol.  
I got up from where I was sitting and I picked Edmund up. Thankfully, he didn’t wake up when I picked him up. I made sure that he was swaddled in a blanket before I moved toward the house.  
I had made it to the others’ campsite. That’s when I noticed Carl was sitting down in his tent. I walked over to him.  
“What are you doin’ buddy?” I asked.  
“Mom told me to go and rest. I can’t fall asleep so I’m reading one of my comics,”  
“Oh, okay. Would you be alright with watching over Edmund? I just want to check up on Carol and I don’t think she’d take too kindly to seeing a baby right now,” The moment I asked him to watch Eddie, Carl’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! I’d love too! I’ll take care of him as if he was my own brother.”  
I smiled at the kid's eagerness. I placed Edmund beside Carl and he, with his comic in hand, laid down and began reading to him. My heart warmed at the sight.  
It didn’t last though. As soon as I made it to the RV, my mood went down. It was like there was an aura coming off it. I could see that Carol had sat down at the little table.  
When I stepped in, Daryl looked back at me. He still had the shotgun. It was sitting in his lap while he sat on the small counter. He also had his arms crossed.  
Carol had looked back at me for a moment, then she turned to stare off into space. Without making much noise, I moved to sit opposite her. We sat there in silence for a moment.  
“I don’t blame you,” Carol was still looking into oblivion. There was no indication as to who the comment was meant for. “You did everything you could.” She looked at Daryl, “And I won't hate you for having Edmund. You can’t control those things,” Carol had turned to me. “I lost my little girl a long time ago and you don’t need to treat me like I’ll fall apart any moment.”  
There was movement coming from my right. I looked over only to see Daryl shaking his head silently. He had his brows drawn and a deep frown had settled onto his face.  
Suddenly, Lori was walking in the doorway of the RV. She looked from Daryl to me, then finally landing on Carol. She too had a deep frown on her face.  
“They’re ready,” Lori spoke moving her gaze to the floor.  
Carol looked back at Lori. She had the same blank face from before. After a moment, Carol, shook her head to decline the offer.  
“Come on,” Lori had moved her gaze back to the woman in question.  
“Why?” Carol asked  
“‘Cause that’s your little girl,” Daryl had moved to his feet and uncrossed his arms.  
“That’s not my little girl. That’s some other- thing. My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought…” Carol took a breath, “She didn’t even cry herself to sleep. She didn’t go hungry. She didn’t try to find her way back. As I said before, Sophia dies a long time ago.” Carol ended with a nod of her head. It was as if she was confirming it for herself.  
Lori, still in the doorway, was listening while fiddling with her necklace.  
She was looking everywhere but Carol. Finally, she et her gaze and on Carol.  
Daryl had sat back down on the counter. He was now staring at Carol as he picked at his cuticles. I just sat in front of her with my head down. I also was messed with my fingers while I let what she said sink in.  
A moment passed and Lori backed out. A blank expression written all over her face. Once fully outside, she walked toward the rest of the group.  
I felt like I wasn’t needed anymore and moved to leave. Before I did, I reached over to pat Carol’s hand. When I reached the door, I laid my hand on Daryl’s knee. I gave Daryl a tight-lipped smile. From there I stepped out of the RV.  
Checking up on how Edmund and Carl were doing, I saw that Carl was still reading to Edmund. He had moved from his sitting position to laying down on his side while leaning on one arm. This allowed Carl to be closer to  
Edmund.  
As I walked through the camp, I noticed that Dale had taken to standing by the cars. He was watching the two boys. I was thankful there was someone keeping an eye out for them.  
Moving from the camp to the house, I walked up to the porch and through the front door. Without thinking, I walked passed Maggie and Glenn’s conversation to stand next to Beth. She was looking better than when she did half an hour ago.  
Beth was quietly cleaning dishes. She’d grab a dirty dish, srub it, rinse once, and then put it away on the drying rack. I leaned on the counter next to her.  
“How are you feeling?” I wasn’t an idiot. I knew that she clearly wasn’t doing great, but I wanted to hear what she had to say.  
She didn’t answer me. She didn’t even acknowledge if she heard me or not. All she did was focus on the dishes in front of her. I sighed and looked away for a moment.  
Suddenly, there was a loud crash. Beside me, I saw Beth fall to the ground. Without hesitation, I was crouching down to her.  
“Beth!?” I was turning her on her back to see if she was okay. Behind me, I heard Glenn and Maggie approaching. Both of whom were also calling out for Beth.  
The next thing we’re doing is moving her into her room. Placing on her bed, Maggie leaned over her to check out what was wrong.  
Beth was just lying there, not responding. Her eyes were open but had an emptiness to them. Her body didn’t budge. Thankfully, her breathing was even. “What’s wrong with her?” I questioned. Looking at Maggie she just shook her head.  
“It might be shock,” Stepping into the room, Lori offered her thoughts. “Where’s Hershel?”  
Since when was Hershel missing? It hadn’t been a full hour since the Barn and now Hershel was missing. I didn’t think things could get worse than the Barn but I guess I thought wrong.  
“We can’t find him anywhere.” Glenn was standing behind me. He had his arms crossed as he watched over Maggie and Beth.  
Without another word, Lori was walking away. I sat there as I listened to her call for her husband and Shane. The two men, along with Lori walked back into the room.  
When Rick saw what was going on, his brows drew together and a small frown formed. Shane didn’t show as much emotion but you could see the concern. Sighing, Rick asked what Lori had a moment ago and Glenn answered with the same answer from before.  
“Where was he last seen?” Shane spoke up.  
“Um, I don’t know. I thought I saw him enter his bedroom,” Maggie was staring at the headboard thinking back.  
“Is it okay if we look in there? It might give us some clue as to where he’s gone,” When Rick had finished speaking, he looked toward his partner. Shane gave Rick a short nod.  
“Yeah, I’ll show you which room it is. (Y/N)?” I looked at Maggie, “Could you stay here while I show them the room?”  
“Yeah, I’ll wait here.” I flashed her a small smile.  
Returning the smile, Maggie got up and walked out of the room with everyone else following her. I was left alone in the room with Beth. I let my hand card through her hair.  
“Hey Beth, we’re gonna find your dad. Don’t worry. You’ll be okay.  
Remember when you and I talked? Remember how I said I’d be there for you? Well, I’m here and we're gonna find your daddy.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After a while, Maggie and Glenn came back into the room. I stayed there for a while longer. It was once Edmund crossed my mind that I got up. I knew he was fine with Carl, but my motherly instinct kicked in and I needed to see that he was okay.  
Peering into the tent, I saw that Carl had fallen asleep. He must have fallen asleep while reading because his head was laying on his open comic book. Edmund was fast asleep beside him. My lips moved of their own accord and a large smile found its way to my face.  
I crept into the tent and carefully picked up Edmund. My arm brushed Carl’s and it had him springing up.  
“What?”  
“Shh, go back to sleep. I’ve got him now.”  
“Okay…” Carl laid back down and instantly fell back asleep. His little body moving up and down as he breathed.  
I didn’t really want to go too far from the camp, so I sat down on one of the lawn chairs and looked out into the farm. I watched how the tree branches blew in the light breeze. There was a calm wooshing noise that came from them. It was quite calming and it slowly lulled me to sleep.  
It wasn’t until someone walked out that I came back to it. I wasn’t aware of how long I had dozed off, but I did know that it was for a little while. Carl was awake again. He had gone right back to reading his comic.  
“How’s he doing?” I jumped at the sudden comment. Looking up, I saw that Andrea was stood beside me.  
“Good, I guess. I was asleep a minute ago.”  
“Oh, sorry.”  
“Nah, you’re good.”  
It was at that moment that Lori came stomping into the camp. From the direction she came in, I’d say she had just come from Daryl’s camp. Her mouth was in a set frown. What did the man do now?  
“You okay?” I hesitantly voiced.  
“I don’t know how you can stand that man. He’s so selfish.”  
I raised an eyebrow in question. I got no answer because Lori had turned around and started gathering somethings. I turned to look at Andrea and she shrugged.  
In an unconscious decision, I got up. My legs moved on their own. I was walking toward Daryl’s camp. He had moved out a bit farther than before.  
Slowly, I approached the hunched man. He had his eyes on a stick in his hands. He had a knife in the other and was sharpening the stick.  
“Hey,” There was only a grunt in reply. Rolling my eyes, I sat down beside him. When I had situated myself and Edmund, I looked at the sight before me.  
The farm was on full display. I could see the fields as well as the massive house that I just was at. If I concentrated, I could see that Lori was still gathering things. Or that Andrea was nowhere to be seen.  
“Why’d you move.”  
Daryl stopped what he was doing for a moment, “Why else? Ta get away from ev’ry one else.”  
“Am I still welcomed?”  
“Seein’ how you got nowhere else to go, yeah.“  
“That’s good.” There was a pause, “So, I ran onto Lori.” At the mention of Lori, Daryl snorted. “What? Did you say something to her? She seemed pretty distraught.”  
“She was tryin’ ta get me ta go fetch her husband.”  
“And what’d you say.”  
“I told her, no. I ain’t her bitch to command. If she wants to get her husband, then she can go get ‘im herself.” His face scrunched up as he started to scrape the bark off the stick with more force.  
“That’s understandable. You have done quite a bit, but don’t you think that you could’ve said it in a better way?”  
The man beside me chuckled darkly, “Ya must not know me then. I ain’t someone tha’ says things nicely. That’s not ma style.”  
“You could always work on being a better person. There’s not a better time than the present.” Daryl just scoffed at me and continued with his stick.  
At some point, I decided that it would be a good idea to put Edmund in his crib. He caused a little frustration when it came to putting him down. I would put him down and then he would instinctively move and it would set off a bout of crying. After several attempts, he was comfortable and finally fell asleep.  
With that taken care of, I came to stand where Daryl was last. I noticed that he was setting up a fire. Instead of standing there like an idiot, I started helping the man gather sticks and things to add to the fire.  
Soon, we had a fire going and Daryl had disappeared into the forest behind us. I stayed where I was and enjoyed the fire.  
Daryl did come back, eventually. He had managed to catch a few rabbits.  
Sitting down, Daryl skinned and gutted them. It got so bad to the point where  
I had to move. I went to check on Eddie. By the time I got back, I saw that Daryl put the rabbit meat on a homemade spit. Sitting down, I joined the man by the fire. The two of us ate together in silence.


End file.
